After Twilight Comes Darkness Part 1: The Battle
by Dark Link117
Summary: I spent two years on this fanfic. Set three years after Twilight Princess, Link has gathered the leaders of the different races and thier armies to finish off the rest of the monsters still roaming Hyrule. But things go bad and an epic battle ensues...
1. The Leaders and Their Races

Crediting, Thanks, Ect.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to for being one of the most informative and easy-to-use LoZ encyclopedia sites ever! It were my best reference and many of my ideas could not have been inspired without it!

Thanks to Ms. Pfeifer, my junior year English teacher who gave me that kick in the pants I needed so badly and finally got me writing more seriously.

Thanks to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto of course! (Obviously!) They own the Legend of Zelda franchise and it's original characters.

Thanks to LuisaRafidi for the Midna pic that I used as a reference when describing Midna.

This story could not have been possible without any of the people mentioned above so many many thanks indeed to all of them!

And last but most certainly not least, a big thank you to any and everyone who takes the time to read this story! Hugs and Kisses for all of you!

(Ignore the Pg# at the bottom of each chapter)

After Twilight Comes Darkness

By

William J.C. West

Part 1: The Battle

Link shivered as the cold misty morning air chilled his skin.

Zelda chuckled at the sight said sarcastically, "Aww. Can't take a little cold? Here, why don't you use my cloak? It'll keep you warm, you poor baby."

"Hmph" Link grunted.

"Come on, you know I was just joking."

He gave her a soft smile. "Yeah, I know."

Link was a young man who wore a forest green tunic of an ancient hero and an odd cone-like cap that curved backward. Underneath, the tunic was a shirt of light chainmail. A simple blue earring hung from his left ear. A pair of plain light tan pants could be seen coming from under the tunic, covering his thighs and knees before disappearing into his brown boots.

He had a very soft complexion. With bright big blue eyes, soft brown hair and fair colored skin he was often hard pressed to preserve his 'manliness'. His voice didn't help either, being soft and young sounding. The numerous battles he had fought in the several maze-like temples and dungeons had taught him to be quiet, composed, and very thoughtful further adding to his delicate look.

Despite his appearance, he was actually an excellent, well-balanced fighter. On his back was the master sword, also known as the sword of evil's bane, and the legendary hylian shield. The sword was the only one of its kind. It had been forged by hylians, under the order and supervision of the goddesses, to serve as a counter-balance in the event of an evil force gaining the power of the triforce. Its title, the sword of evil's bane, came from this legend. The gleaming white sword was made of shining steel with a purple hilt shaped to somewhat resemble a bird's wings.

The hylian shield wasn't actually that legendary. It had been used by hylian royal guard for centuries and its design had changed little over time. It was a kite shield outlined by thick steel. A red eagle design that covered the lower half of the shield sat against a background of bold blue. Above it was an embossed triforce a pair of decorative grooves on each side. What made them legendary was their rarity and that, in turn, made them quite expensive, making the shield all that much more difficult to obtain.

Link held the power of the triforce of courage, a sacred magical relic that granted him incredible skills as a warrior. His title was the Hero of Twilight, earned by banishing the evil Usurper King, Zant and later the Dark Lord himself, Ganondorf.

And then there was Princess Zelda. As the sole ruler of the land of Hyrule, she retained her title as princess due to the fact that she hadn't married. "Besides," she had said "I like 'Princess' better, anyway. Queen Zelda just makes me feel old and it sounds funny."

She wore a pasty white dress with a hem decorated by intricate lines. A soft purple blouse served as a top. Her long brown hair was always tied back with the end in a short braid. Princess Zelda held the triforce of wisdom which granted her great magical power which she used as a weapon along side her trusty rapier. She knew wearing a dress to a battle was like bringing a knife to a sorcerer's duel but she hated pants. She felt they made her seem less like a princess and more like a prince.

They had been on the march for two weeks now with Link riding his horse, Epona and Zelda on her white mare, Snowfire. Behind them was an army of zoras, gorons, and hylian knights; all prepared for battle. After Ganondorf's defeat, the vast majority of his minions had continued to fight. That is, except the bulblins. True to his word, King Bulblin had joined their side which meant the bulblins also marched along side them.

Bulblins were small green-skinned goblin-like creatures. A pair of short horns grew from the sides of their head that curved forward. Despite their size, many of them fought with large clubs and axes but others use bows with arrows that were often alight with orange flames. They looked like bandits with leather caps and jerkins complete with a dark dull blue bandana that covered their faces save for their beady red eyes. Being a smaller, weaker type of creature, Bulblins rode large boars called bullbos as opposed to being foot soldiers. Bullbos were the size of a large bear with a mean temper to boot. Their short coarse fur was a uniform brown with beady red eyes like their masters'. A pair of ivory tusks grew from each side of their snout. Bulblins always worked in pairs with one steering the bulbos and the other firing arrows or bludgeoning foes with their clubs as they passed by. In the end bulblins served as very effective cavalry; deadly accurate with their bows and able to skillfully steer the wild and easily frenzied bullbos.

As for King Bulblin himself, he's a whole 'nother story. As a mutant by some sort of freak of nature, he had grown to be the goliath of his race. While most bulblins grew to be five to six feet high, King Bulblin easily stood a whooping nine. He wore thick plate armor with a metal cap for a helmet. A visor covered his beady red eyes and stubbed nose. The helmet wrapped around the sides of his head and came together at his chin. From each side of his head grew a pair of huge thick horns, rising up over the top of his head curving out and then in. They were colored with alternating bands of red and white. And King Bulblin's weapon of choice? A gargantuan single bladed ax.

He too rode a bullbo but not just any beast could serve as his battle companion. His steed was Lord Bullbo, the biggest, baddest, and most ill-tempered of them all. He was outfitted snout to tail with spiked armor making him a sight of pure terror in the eyes of his foes. His fur, for some unknown reason, was a dull gray-blue unlike the dark brown fur of normal bullbos. Lord Bullbo also had a pair of horns growing from the sides of his head that were almost exact replicas of his master's. Together, the Lord and the King were a pair made for each other and for devastation.

Gorons, as opposed to the average bulblin, were towering brutes of strength and formidable endurance. They were usually a good seven-feet tall. Their brown skin was incredibly durable and their back was covered in a hard rocky type of exoskeleton capable of withstanding the bite of even the sharpest of blades. With various tribal-like tattoos and only a loin cloth for clothing, they often struck others as a barbaric and uncivilized race but on the contrary, gorons were very organized and neighborly with strong ties to chivalrous morals such as honor, brotherhood, and proving one's self. Gorons had small beady eyes for their immense size but unlike the bulblins' red eyes, theirs was a strong dark blue. Despite their girth, gorons had the ability to curl into a ball and traverse vast distances at great speeds by rolling. They fought using their naturally rock-spiked knuckles and incredible strength.

Darbus, the patriarch of the gorons, was the largest of them all. He was almost bigger than King Bulblin. The natural rock-like growths on his forearms, back, and head were large and very thick. He even had a goatee of stone growing from his wide chin. The rock growing from his scalp had been cut and filed to look like a flattop haircut emphasizing his stern, rigid personality.

Zoras were an aquatic race complete with fins on their elbows and webbed feet and hands. Their fish-like scales were pasty white in front and faded to a dark aquamarine on their back. Their humanoid eyes were a strong but gentle green that always seemed to put people at peace in their hearts. A zora's head was something no less short of interesting. Two loose lobes of flesh grew from the top of their head and hung down to their chest ending in points looking very much like long hair parted in the middle. The back of their head extended into a fairly long, flexible structure that closely resembled the caudal fin of a fish only it was turned sideways like a whale's. Using gills located on each side of their chest, they could spend an infinite amount of time underwater. Their weapons were mainly spears made from the bones of giant sea creatures and elaborately decorated.

Zoras were to gorons like oil to water; they might mix for a while but before long they always separate. Like the gorons, zoras were large creatures being on average around seven to eight feet tall though they were much more slender and graceful than their husky opposites. Unlike gorons whose powerful muscles were often hidden by layers of fat, well-toned rippling muscles were clearly visible beneath the zoras' scales. Gorons were blunt, rowdy, and quite lazy at times. The zoras, on the other hand, were sleek, beautiful and very energetic. Their difference in climate preference made them even more opposite. Gorons lived on the slopes of Death Mountain, an active volcano and enjoyed the extreme heat given off by it. Zoras, on the other hand, lived in the northern part of Hyrule at the top of a giant waterfall and they enjoyed the cool moist air in the area.

Queen Rutela was the monarch of the zora race. Like the others rulers in the land, she was the tallest of her race and wore a form fitting dress of high elegance with a long slit down the side to keep from inhibiting her mobility. Her skin had a maroon tinge to it and her lobes of hair-like flesh look much more like coral that flowed across her shoulders. They started solid and dark red at the top of her head and then split into several thick strands and faded to a washed out yellow color. She was one of the few zoras who could use magic and it served as one of her main weapons in battle.

In spite of all their differences neither the zoras or the goron had ever shown any aggression toward each other and the zoras were even known to vacation in the hot springs of Death Mountain and the gorons did the same in the calm refreshing waters of Zora's Domain.

The hylians were very much like humans save for their pointed ears, sharp features, and some magical ability. Their ruler was Princess Zelda, but, since the incident with the Twilight, Link has become just as much their leader as their princess. The hylian knights were known throughout the land for their bravery and unstoppable determination. Countless stories were told and retold of the many courageous knights who had proudly given their lives for the greater good. They fought with a variety of light weaponry from long spears and polearms to the classic sword and shield combination. They each wore a thick tunic of leather armor or light chain mail with a full coverage helmet completed by a visor. Underneath was a simple long-sleeved shirt and a pair of cloth pants. Their standard footwear were simple brown marching boots and fingerless combat gloves covered their hands. The only color between the armor and clothing, both of which were dull gray, was some simple green lining on the shirt and pants and the blazing red hylian royal emblem on their chest.

Altogether, they numbered around two-thousand, with five-hundred soldiers of each race marching in their own separate ranks. But Link still felt they were over doing it. There could only be so many monsters left after hunting them down for three years. After all, they were here to finish a fight, not slaughter a few hundred, leaderless, discouraged monsters, but Princess Zelda had been firm in her judgment.

"Never take any chances with Ganondorf's handy work. What you see and hear is only half the truth." she had said knowing from personal experience.

He had to give her credit there. Ganondorf had always had more than just a few surprises up his sleeve. But, the Dark Lord was dead. Link knew it. He had been there. He was the one who had killed him.

**FLASHBACK**

Link stood back watching as Ganondorf unsteadily climbed to his feet. For a frightful moment Link thought he was going keep fighting even with the master sword penetrating through his chest but Ganondorf's weakly quivering voice proved otherwise.

"Do not think this ends here." He closed his eyes for a moment and clenched his jaws. Upon opening them he said spitting blood through his teeth, "The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"

With that he looked down at the three golden glowing triangles on his left hand with the top one glowing most strongly and watched as they quickly faded simultaneously until they were gone. He let his hand drop and stared into the distance, releasing a long painful sigh as his eyelids slowly drooped lower and lower till...

"Ugh!" Ganondorf jerked his head backward as his eyes rolled back and his heart finally stopped. His shoulders slumped and his head bowed, but his body did not fall. Why it didn't, neither Link nor Zelda knew but what they _did_ know was that Ganondorf, The Dark Lord, was dead.

As the vanquished villain's cape floated lazily up and down in the low-whistling wind, Link took a step forward and bowed his head. Zelda brought her hands to her bosom and did the same. Ganondorf may have been evil but he had still been a mighty adversary. Ruthless and vastly powerful, he had been a man willing to do whatever he needed to obtain his heart's desires. No matter how evil he had been in life, the holders of the triforce of wisdom and courage had to respect him in death.

**END FLASHBACK**

Link sighed. It was a bitter-sweet memory. Even though defeating Ganondorf had saved the kingdom from the Twilight Invasion, Link always sensed that a part of Ganondorf only wished to be left alone in peace. Just as Link sometimes wished for a normal life without being the holder of the triforce of courage, he could sometimes see the same desire in Ganondorf's eyes, the longing of freedom.

Link shook his head. He knew it could not be... at least, not yet. Even though Ganondorf was gone, he felt something pulling him. Telling him the fight wasn't over yet. What it was he couldn't tell but at least he knew it wasn't any of Ganondorf's handy work.

Page **6** of **6**


	2. What They Didn't Expect

Today they would reach their destination, The Deku Basin. It was where they would engage the enemy one last time in the battle to end all battles. They only stopped once to eat and rest. Then, a few hours before sundown, they arrived.

Link stopped and dismounted Epona, telling her to hide somewhere safe till the battle was over. He watched as she galloped away.

"Fighting from horseback isn't my style." He said when Zelda raised an eyebrow.

There was still another few hundred feet before they actually reached the basin. Link looked over his left shoulder at Darbus's towering frame and nodded then he turned and looked over his right nodding to Queen Rutela. They had all agreed on the same simple plan: go in and get it over with as soon as possible.

As the four of them neared the edge of the basin, they began to share worried glances. Already, it was clear that they had severely underestimated the enemy's numbers. Zelda hopped of her horse and held the reins in her hand so she could stand next to Link.

Link, Zelda, Darbus, King Bulblin and Rutela stood at the top of the hill that outlined the basin and surveyed the army amassed before them. The sheer size of it was enough to shake the foundations of even the most battle hardened warrior let alone that it contained an alarmingly wide variety of monsters. From the thousands of minor enemies like lizalfos, bokoblins, and aeralfos to the massive bosses such as Armogohma who shook the ground with his very steps and Argorok whose giant wing beats could be heard even from where they stood. Link was shocked and deeply disturbed at what he saw in the basin. For half o' second his eyes widened with rising panic and dread but Zelda tenderly her arm around his and stared into his eyes for a moment saying softly,

"It'll be alright. Don't forget, we hold pieces of the triforce. We can do this. "

Link's features hardened once more.

"Yes…yes, we can… but not yet. The soldiers are tired and need a day's rest. Darbus, can you send one of your gorons to give them a message."

"No problem." He turned and called to the goron ranks, "Gordo!"

An average looking goron came rolling from the front lines of his tribe and bowed to his leader.

"You called me, Patriarch?"

"Yes, our brother here would like you to relay a message to those weak vermin in the basin."

Gordo turned to Link

"And what's this message, brother?"

"Tell them that we will be ready to fight them by this time tomorrow."

"No problem." He answered with a respectful nod.

They watched as Gordo rolled down the slope gaining speed as he went. As he neared the massive force of monsters, a lone bokoblin ran out to meet him. Gordo slowed to a stop and exchanged words with the purple skinned creature. The air went deathly quiet. This was the most dangerous moment. Monsters were seldom honorable and they could very well decide to kill the messenger in turn sending their own message. They shared worried glances as the leaders of the different races watched. They all knew if the monsters chose to attack now they weren't going to make it for sure. Even with the advantage of the high ground, their army was tired from marching and they were heavily outnumbered.

The bokoblin ran back and delivered the message to the larger 'higher ups' of his army. He returned to Gordo who, after hearing their reply, suddenly turned and began rolling back up the plateau. They relaxed slightly but it wasn't over yet.

He reached them and relayed the response. "They have agreed to wait until we're ready."

Rutela released a pent up breath and Darbus unclenched his fists.

"Thank you, Gordo" Link said respectfully. Speaking to everyone, he said, "Spread the word to set up camp and that we will attack tomorrow evening."

Later, when the main tent had been set up, they began a war conference around a medium sized table with a crude diagram of the Deku Basin on it. Darbus was roaring that they should charge the enemy while Rutela wanted to take the advantage of the basin slopes by holding their position and letting the enemy come to them. Zelda sat quietly, her hands folded on her lap. King Bulblin stood back in the shadows with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched and listened. He never said much but only because whatever course of action the others took, it usually agreed with him. Link sat on a three legged stool near the entrance of the tent just out of the range of Zelda's hovering white orb that shed soft light on the table and those near it. He too, was a man of few words.

"You're insane Darbus! Your plan is suicide!" Her voice was femininely mature and strong. The words flowed out like a gentle brook, well in this case, it was more like a rushing waterfall.

"At least I'm not a coward, Rutela!" Darbus's voice was quite the opposite. It was gruff, gravelly, and very deep.

"  
Taking advantage of the higher ground is a common battle strategy. It's been used countless times over the centuries!

"Yes, by cowardly fools too afraid to face their opponents!"

"You're calling my zoras cowards? Well, at least we have enough sense not to march to slaughter!"

Despite being a good six inches shorter than him, Rutela stared up at Darbus challengingly. Darbus clenched and unclenched his spike fists, glaring down at her as they moved closer and closer till their foreheads almost touched.

"Darbus! Rutela!" Zelda yelled. "Enough! We are all deeply disturbed and worried about our current predicament but killing each other is no way to prepare for a very challenging battle. Now I for one must admit that I agree with her majesty, Rutela. We are outnumbered ten to one. A full head on charge isn't the most strategic course of action. Have you forgotten, Darbus, that we don't all have skin make of rock?"

Then, to everyone's surprise, King Bulblin stepped forward his armor 'clinking' as he moved, and spoke in his deep croaking voice.

"But have you, Princess, forgotten that bulblins are not tactical fighters; they are best in open warfare. My troops would be useless trying to hold a position. I must stand by Darbus in that charging the enemy is the best method of attack. After all the best defense is often a good offense."

"That works both ways you fool!" Rutela retorted hotly

Link shot up off his stool angrily and shouted in a thundering voice, "Shut UP!"

Link's sudden outburst shocked everyone into silence. He stood breathing heavily; his eyes were a darker blue than usual due to the lack of sufficient lighting. The Hero of Twilight scanned the tent, giving each and every one of them a dark chiding look. No one had ever heard the Hero of Twilight yell before. In fact no one had ever even seen him angry. He was always so calm, precise, and smooth. He just accepted whatever came his way and dealt with it the best way he could.

Link continued to speak in a low cold voice that, even though it was little more than a whisper, it filled the silence of the tent like a harsh early winter.

"Both of your approaches will fail. We are but two-thousand strong against an estimated ten-thousand. There is no single strategy that will save the day this time. And what are you doing about it? Arguing amongst yourselves over whose battle plan is best. You should all be ashamed. Keep working against each other like that and see where it gets you."

He waited for what he had said to sink in. Then, he strode over to where the rough basin sketch was laid out. Using a piece of charcoal as crude pencil, he continued in a calmer, more relaxed voice.

"Now, here is what I propose we do. Darbus, your troops are the fastest and most effective in a charge, so you and your gorons would be best tearing right into their front lines. The ferocious impact of four-hundred gorons should be more than enough to throw their formation into pandemonium and King Bulblin, I think your troops should come in right behind Darbus and his gorons. After all, your bulblins are the second fastest and should be able to easily keep up with the gorons. Once you're in range, I want it to rain arrows upon them."

The Bulblin monarch nodded in understanding and agreement.

"Queen Rutela, your zoras, and our hylians will be following farther behind and will hit the enemy after the gorons and Bulblins have scattered their ranks, making for a lethal first strike."

Her ocean green eyes twinkled and she smiled with approval and anticipation.

"Now listen," he said addressing everyone in the tent, "the whole point of starting a battle just before sundown is to perform a large scale version of guerrilla tactics. We hit 'em hard as we go in, fight for a while and then get out with minimal casualties. That's my thinking. If anyone disagrees with my plan, by all means, please, speak your mind."

There was only silence. Darbus turned to Rutela who nodded and turned to King Bulblin. He bowed his head and looked at Zelda who stood and said quietly,

"For Hyrule."

"Thank you, my friends." Link said "If business is concluded, let us depart to our separate tents. It goes without saying, but make sure your troops know their part in our plan. We'll only get one shot at this and even if it works, the odds still weigh heavily against us. Good night and please try to sleep well."

With that, everyone began to leave. As she turned to follow them out, Zelda felt something tug at her conscience. She turned to find Link had sat down at the table with the map on it and was giving her a solemn stare. His eyes told her to stay so she waited until the large meeting tent was empty.

Page **4** of **4**


	3. We Need Help

"What is it, Link?"

"Zelda, what do you think of the plan I put forth just now?"

"I think it's a great plan and with it, I truly believe we can win."

He sighed heavily and shook his head.

"We won't win. I can feel it. Zelda, there's more here than what meets the eye. There's some important piece of knowledge that we need to discover, something dark… but what is it?"

She placed her soft white-gloved hand on his.

"What you feel is the prelude of battle. I feel it too but trust in your courage and in my wisdom and we will prevail. Now relax and come with me to our tent."

"No! No, Zelda! There should not be this many of them. And what about Armogohma? And Argorok? They should be dead, Zelda! I _killed_ them!"

She turned to leave but stopped when he grasped her arm.

"Wait! I'm sorry. Besides, I haven't told you why I asked you to stay yet."

With a wave of her hand, she summoned her stool which floated to her and she sat leaning forward.

"We don't have enough troops to beat them and our current plan will only buy us time. We need to send a messenger to get help."

"But it took us a fortnight to get here. The outcome will have been long decided by then."

"It took us two weeks, yes, but you, Zelda can get there instantly using your magic to teleport."

"But I can't teleport more than one person with me at a time! You know that! It would still take two weeks to get back with reinforcements."

"What about the Sheikah?"

Zelda's eyes widened.

"You know they swore never to fight again. Not after that incident with poor Impton."

"Tell them the size of the army massed against a free and peaceful Hyrule. They will listen to you, I'm sure of it. After all, you were once a sheikah long ago."

Zelda bit her lip in deep thought for a moment, then,

"But even if they do agree to aid us, it's still a week's march from the Hidden Village. I know they're fast but a week's march? I can't imagine how they'd do it in less than four or five days."

"Who knows how the Sheikah accomplish half of what they do? They're practically a whole 'nother species unto themselves. But anyway, it's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"I suppose."

"And here take this."

Using a dagger which he drew from the interior of his left boot, Link cut a small handful of cloth from the bottom of his tunic. Then to Zelda's alarm he cut a light slice his right hand and soaked the green cloth in his own crimson blood.

"Link! What…"

"I once visited the Sheikah a few years ago right before Ilia had regained her memory. She told us that the sheikah had taken care of her for a while so I visited them for some answers about the whole twilight thing. Before they would tell me anything though, I had to prove myself worthy. So I played a sparring game in which the rules are simple. 'The first one to draw blood wins.' I lost many times before finding the opening in my opponent's defense."

Link shuddered for a moment lost in memories before holding the cloth out to her.

Zelda took the bloody rag and said, as she begun to understand Link's reasoning,

"Oh, and if I show them this they will understand just how dire our situation is."

"Precisely. It's my way of acknowledging them as superior."

"Well, I'll try but nobody's spoken with the sheikah in several years, not even me.

"And I'm still sure you'll do fine."

They stood and hugged.

"Please, stay safe, Link. Neither the kingdom nor I could bear losing the Hero of Twilight."

"You too, my princess.

The released each other and Link took a step back saying,

"Oh, and don't mention this to the others. I don't want to give them too much false hope."

She nodded and stepped back, twirled once and vanished with a 'Pshing!' in scattered cloud of magical sparkles.

The white glowing orb flickered and went out plunging Link into darkness.

"Please, Impaz, don't abandon us now." He whispered with a heavy heart.

In the darkness of the now silent tent, Link excogitated his sudden outburst. Ever since his first visit to the Twilight Realm and transformation into the blue-eyed wolf, there had been something stirring within him. And the when the Hero's Shade had taught him the final and most destructive sword technique, the Great Spin Attack, it had spoken. It had a voice very similar to his that echoed in his mind but was deeper and often wheezed or whispered its words. He seemed to breathe in Link's ear like a serpent with words of power, ultimate control, and widespread domination.

Link, being the resourceful adventurer he was, would gladly accept assistance from pretty much anywhere and anything, but this was an exception. The aura that he felt from this… thing… was pure evil through and through. The very memory of its voice sent chills down Link's spine. And what was even worse was that it was angry. And not just ticked off but it was like this creature had been beaten, abused, scorned, and generally hated for just _being_ for as long as it could remember. The maddening passion of hatred within this thing had become a violent storm of rage. The scary part was that it rarely showed through. His voice was so calm and silky smooth sometimes but the mania in his words could be felt bubbling just below the surface.

Every time Link used the Great Spin Attack, as seldom as he did, the evil one within him would be the most active and as much as Link hated it, the technique _was_ powerful and useful. But when he used it, it was like they stopped being a separate pair of entities and became a single monstrous demon. Link would suddenly feel overwhelming depression, then it would morph into resentment and then pure, all-consuming hatred. It felt like everyone he had ever known just turned their backs on him. Especially after all he had done, saving Hyrule _and _the Twilight Realm. He wanted blood. He wanted to see them suffer. He wanted everything to scream his name in terror as he slaughtered them all. And now he had the power to do it… But then he would fight it in an intense battle of wills, forcing the demented thoughts from his mind and returning his psyche to normal. It was hard but so far, he had always won.

As dark and evil as it was, Link couldn't deny that he liked finally being the one in control. No matter how hard he tried, his whole life had consisted of being told where to go and what to do next. He felt like a dog. Always obeying orders from everyone and always doing favors, half of which went under appreciated. And then, to suddenly have the freedom of choice, to shape his own fate as he chose; the rush it gave him was exhilarating.

With a heavy sigh, he thrust such thoughts from his mind and retreated to his personal tent for a night's rest but not before telling his generals the plan and charging them with the task of spreading the word among the soldiers. Then he lied down and was asleep in less than a minute.

Page **4** of **4**


	4. The Hidden Village

With a cloud of sparkles similar to the one before, Zelda appeared on a narrow dirt road. It would take her to the Hidden Village where the Sheikah lived. Anyone who knew anything about the sheikah knew that you never attempt to surprise them. Not that very many could but if they somehow succeeded they'd be dead before he or she knew it.

With a wave of her hand she summoned an orb of light not unlike the previous one in the meeting tent, only smaller. It followed above her as Zelda began walking down the path.

The sheikah were a ninja-like like tribe. One would almost be unable to tell them apart from hylians if not for their red eyes. Dark and mysterious, the sheikah made steady allies but fickle friends. It was generally agreed that no one crossed the sheikah and lived.

Zelda only walked for a few minutes before she came upon the village entrance. The village itself was located in the giant boulders surrounding Death Mountain so to enter it she had to first go through a small cave. On the other side there was a large wooden archway from which hung a sign with the insignia of the Sheikah tribe on it. An ominous eye with three small triangles above it and a single large tear drop falling from the center.

The village was made of rows of connecting buildings on the left and right with a main road in the middle. Due to the lack of space between foundations, there were only a few alley ways. The buildings all had thick smoke pipes on top of them but no smoke issued forth from any of them. It was very quiet, eerie even. The houses looked old and abandoned. The wind blew a rolling cloud of leaves across the path ahead of her. Somewhere, an owl hooted and a lone wolf cried to the crescent moon. A chill went down her spine even though it was a warm night.

She slowly and cautiously ventured down the main road for several minutes before calling out tentatively,

"He-hello…? I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule. I come bringing grave news and a call for help."

Another breeze washed over the small silent town. Like nature whispering to the night. The wolf howled again, sounding closer than before. Zelda's skin was beginning to crawl. She glanced at the floating orb above her right shoulder. She held up her hand to it causing it to grow giving off more light. The extra light revealed she reached the end of the road. Facing her was a large building that looked like it might have been the house of the village mayor or something similar. As Zelda moved closer to inspect the building a stern aged female voice shouted from above her,

"Stop! Move back until you are an equal distance from this building and the ones behind you. And stay in the middle of the street."

"Now see here! I'm Princess Zelda of Hyrule! I do not-"

She was cut short as four bladed throwing star whizzed past her fast missing it by a mere millimeters. The princess did as she was told.

"Why are you doing this? We are allies with the sheikah."

"Because," The owner of the voice jumped from the roof of the building in front of her, a ten-foot plus drop, without rolling to break the impact landing heavily on a bended knee. "the sheikah never take chances".

The tall woman stepped from the shadows to reveal a very large, well-built figure. She had to be at least seven feet tall and her skin was flawless but her long white hair, tied back in a flowing ponytail and dulled red eyes betrayed her to be much older than she looked. She wore an armored corset with a tight-fitting pair a blue shorts. A pair of light-armor sabatons and greaves covered her feet and calves. Shoulder guards were connected by brown leather straps to a diamond-shaped center piece that joined her neck collar to the navel of her bosom. The blue diamond-shaped piece had the sheikah's insignia on it in traditional red.

"Prove you are indeed the princess and we will hear what you have to say. I'm going to ask you a question only the real Princess Zelda would be able to answer. Are you ready?"

Zelda nodded, wondering what to expect.

"Back during the seven years of darkness, there was a mysterious sheikah who helped the Hero of Time along his quest. What was his name and what was his true identity?"

"His name was Sheik… but no one knows who he actually was."

"We do."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"_My_ life doesn't depend on it." She smirked.

Zelda bit her lip for a moment. "Me. I was Sheik. In that lifetime anyway. It was Impa's way of hiding me from Ganondorf until Link could fulfill his destiny."

The giant woman smiled and her features released their chill as they softened

"Welcome, your highness." She said with a bow. "The Hidden Village is honored by your presence. Come inside, have some tea and we can discuss the purpose of your visit. But first…"

She cupped her hands over her mouth and produced the same owl hoot that Zelda had heard earlier. The "smoke stacks" jumped from the roof tops, unveiling their true identities as sheikah. The blue clad ninja all wore outfits similar to the one of the giant woman. They bowed collectively to the princess before entering the buildings on which they had stood.

The inside of the large house turned out to be much more livable than it looked from the outside. A large, rectangular, six-person table acted as a center piece while a big unlit fireplace broke the monotony of the back wall. Zelda took a seat by the table. The tall woman put a kettle on a small wood stove. She opened the little grated door and with a snap of her fingers a crackling fire appeared.

"So," she said sitting across from Zelda. The giant-sized woman snapped her fingers again a larger fire appeared in the fireplace adding its light and warmth to the room while creating long shadows throughout the room. "I am the head of the sheikah tribe and I know who you are but what is this 'grave news' you speak of?"

"You heard of Link's quest to rid the land of the last remaining monsters, I suppose?"

"We have."

"Well, Link, Darbus, Rutela, King Bulblin and I each took a small force of our soldiers to the Deku Basin where the final battle was to take place, but when we arrived there was an army of ten-thousand waiting for us. We only have two-thousand troops. So I've come on behalf of the Hero of Twilight to ask for the aid of you and your ninja.

The air went quiet and still for a few long moments until it was broken by the whistling of the kettle. The sheikah leader got up to pour a cup hot tea for each of them and sat back down. Quiet as a moonless night in winter, her face was deathly pale and solemn. Just as Zelda began to wonder if she was ok, the leader of the sheikah spoke. She continued to stare off to the dark side of the room and her voice was forcefully calm and steady.

"We cannot help you."

"But-"

"No."

"Please!"

There was another brief pause.

"...Have you ever heard the story of the tragedy of Impton?"

"Yes. I know-"

"Have you ever heard if from a sheikah?"

"No, I just know-

"…I was there, you know."

"Wher-"

"Just listen."

Page **4** of **4**


	5. The Tragedy of Impton: Part 1

Impton was up extra early that morning. After all, today was the big day. It was his birthday and he was finally turning sixteen, old enough to go with the rest of the warriors to battle. His father was the commander of the Sheikah army while his mother acted as first lieutenant. Impton's dream was to follow in his father's footsteps and be the commander one day too. He shook himself to get used to his new outfit. It was a full-body jumpsuit with long sleeves ending with fingerless gloves at the end of the sleeves. The garment was even made with socks that had thick leather soles sewn into the bottoms and served as shoes for the young sheikah. It was all traditional sheikah blue save for the chest which was white with the red sheikah insignia on it. His spiky blond hair, cut short, made him one of the very few sheikah to have light colored hair.

He barged into his parents room yelling.

"Mom! Dad! Get up! You have to get ready or we'll be late!"

"Impton!" They groaned still half asleep.

His father rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head. "The bokoblins won't be there till midday and it's not even dawn yet."

"Get some rest before the raid. You'll need your strength for the fight." His mother advised.

"But, but"

"No 'buts'. Now go bother Impaz or something. Us old folk need our sleep." His dad said ending the statement with a long groggy yawn.

Impton, excited with the idea of visiting Impaz, left as abruptly as he had come.

"Ugh, kids" his father grunted

"Now, wait a minute here. I remember you the first time you went to battle." Impton's mother said.

"Oh, come on! At least I didn't wake everyone up hours before the actual battle."

"No, you just tripped over your own spear and knock yourself out."

Cough! Cough! " Ahem! That doesn't count. I never actually went! I didn't wake up till they got back. Then I was the laughing stock of the village for years."

"Maybe so, but look where you are now: Commander of the great sheikah and even better, you're married to me."

"Yes," he said with a smile "I do love it. Being the commander I mean."

"Hey!"

She gave him a playful punch. Then they both chuckled and went back to sleep.

Impton had arrived at Impaz's house. Using the cracks between the wooden planking he scaled the left side to her window on the second floor.

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_ "Impaz." _Tap! Tap!_ "Impaz! Are you awake yet?" he said in a loud whisper. He leaned forward till his nose smudged the already dirty glass and he cupped his right hand so he could see into house.

_Bam! _A pillow slammed into the glass startling Impton and throwing him off balance for a moment. He steadied himself and turned back to the window only to come face to face with a very large and very upset looking seventeen year-old girl. Still in her nightgown with her uncombed black hair falling over her eyes and her fists on her hips, she stared at her best friend, annoyed with the rude awakening.

"G-good morning, Impaz. I guess you're not ready for the raid yet so I'll be going now. Can you meet me outside in a little while?"

"Oh, I'll be out there, all right. Just you wait. Now if you don't mind, get down from my window, you freak!"

He hastily jumped from the window before she could open it and push him off.

Impaz sighed as she watched Impton pace back and forth in front of her house.

"Whatever am I going to do with you Impton?"

She shook her head with a smile and left to get ready for the day.

Twenty minutes later, Impaz emerged from her home. She wore a typical sheikah outfit. Blue pants and shirt with wide white vertical stripes each side of the shirt. Her forearms and calves were tightly wrapped in long strips of white cloth. Simple espadrilles covered her feet and a two long katanas were strapped to her back. Her jet black hair was tied back in a ponytail that cascaded down her back. Visible under her clothes were well toned muscles but you could tell just by looking at the way she walked that her body was naturally built to be powerful. She had a strong jawline, with piecing red eyes that she always kept low beneath her constantly knotted brow.

"You look beautiful." He stated hoping she was in a good mood.

"And you look like crap." She answered giving his arm a solid slug.

"Ouch. What was that for?" he asked rubbing his shoulder.

"Waking me up seven hours before the raid, that's what. And the whole 'climbing my house and banging on the window to get my attention' thing, not cool."

"Sorry, I know it was kinda weird, but you don't want to over sleep do you?" he apologized opening his arms to give her a hug.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Back off! You know I don't do hugs… or any other kind physical contact for that matter. Besides, Impton! It just after dawn and the raid isn't till noon."

"Better safe than sorry… I guess?"

She sighed and shook her head.

"You know I'd beat the crap out of you if you weren't my friend and _that'll_ only protect you for so long. Now let's get to the smith's and clean our weapons up a little. Dull blades won't do us any good in battle."

But before they could move, the door of the house next to Impaz's burst open and a sloppily dressed female sheikah came running out haphazardly still adjusting the white cloth strips around her calves as she went.

"Oh no." Impaz said bringing her palm to her face with a sigh, "Here comes disaster."

The newcomer was dressed almost identical to Impaz except that her clothes were looser and wrinkled and instead of pants she wore shorts. The stripes of her shirt crossed across her chest forming a white 'X' against the midnight blue. Her hair was light brown, and was cut just above shoulder length. It had been obvious brushed in a hurry and many defiant locks still stuck out here and there. Two rows of throwing stars crossed across her chest following the same path at the white stripes of her shirt. Her belt also had a row of the deadly four-pointed blades going around her waist. A couple of tantos were attached to outside of her calves but because they weren't secured, the small knives bounced around wildly as she hopped and stumbled towards her friends.

"Hi, guys!" She greeted breathlessly, still fiddling with her clothes and equipment. While she paused to catch her breath, Impton gave her hug and said,

"Good morning, Fern! What happened to you?"

"I heard you and Impaz and decided that if you guys were up and about than I should be too. So y'all fixin' to go get ready for the raid?"

Before Impton could answer Impaz did.

"Yes, _we _were. _We _were going to the smith to sharpen _our_ weapons."

"Why don't you join us, Fern?"

Impaz could only glare.

"I'd love to! Let's go!"

Impaz sighed and stated firmly,

"Ok, but I'm not working around her. I don't intend on missing out on this raid because she decided to try a new move and it goes horribly wrong."

A couple hours later, the village was awake and bustling with blue and white clad sheikah ready to participate in the raid. The thirty or so who were actually going stood at the village entrance awaiting their commander. Husbands waved to their wives and children who waved back enthusiastically. Unlike normal societies before a battle, the atmosphere was light and happy. The sheikah were renowned for their survivability and were rarely killed in a fight. Everyone was expected them to return unharmed.

The air went respectfully quiet as the commander took his place at the head of the troops. He faced them and said,

"I'm sure everyone knows how this is going to work but as a simple reminder, we will be ambushing a caravan of enemy supplies in the pass east of Kakariko Village. We'll be hidden amongst the rocks and for those of you who can handle the jump, on top of the pass walls. We will attack on my signal. I want total control out there. We're there to stop the supplies, not massacre them. Destroy the wagons and steal the supplies. Incapacitate those you must but I want no killing. That goes for _all_ of you."

He paused and gave a particularly rough looking sheikah a warning glance.

"Lastly, to all of the younger sheikah, remember, fighting is an honor and a privilege. Do anything foolhardy and there _will be SEVERE _consequences. Am I understood?"

They answered collectively, "Yes!"

"I asked you a question, sheikah!"

"YES! SIR, COMMANDER!"

They left, not marching, but casually walking side by side as if this were nothing more than an afternoon stroll. Impton gulped and wiped the sweat from his brow. Impaz threw an arm around him.

"Nervous much?" She grinned mischievously

"No. No, I'm not nervous… well, maybe just a little."

"Meh, just stick with me and we'll all be fine. This _is _my third time, ya know."

Fern, whose hair was now nicely parted down the middle, encouraged Impton further by saying from his opposite side, "I think you'll do fine. After all, you _are_ the commander's son not to mention one of the best sheikah in the village."

He smiled. "Thanks, Fern."

As the three friends talked, so did Impton's parents.

"Can you believe it? Our son is finally old enough to fight with the rest of us." His mother said.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything rash or foolish.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine. After all, you did a fine job raising him."

He smiled tenderly and answered "We both did, Ramona."

By noon, they had reached the pass and were concealed among the rocks. Their casual mood was replaced with solemn concentration.

Bokoblins weren't the most challenging adversaries. In fact, they were noted for their lack of intelligence. They were human-sized impish creatures with long pointed ears that poked straight out from the sides of their heads. Bokoblins have dark purple skin with bright beady green eyes and gray dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail. They wear rough looking pants held up by a belt of rope. Their only other clothing is a pair of leather elf-like slippers.

Bokoblins used cleaver like swords for weapons. They make for their lack on brain power with stamina and endurance. Bokoblins don't where any armor, but their body can take massive amounts of abuse. Most think this is because their brain can't process pain.

It wasn't long before the caravan showed. Covered wagons pulled by mean looking bullbos were being driven by bokoblins. As far as anyone could tell, they seemed to suspect nothing. Impaz, Impton and Fern all waited tensely behind a rock for the commander's signal. Seconds felt like hours as they lied hiding. Then, when the wagons halfway past,

"NOW!"

The hidden sheikah burst from the rocks and the crevices above, not screaming battle cries but silent and smooth. They reached the wagons and then disaster struck.

"It's a trap! Ahhgh-"

Before the sheikah could rip open the canvas covering the wagons to reveal their contents, their contents revealed themselves. A salvo of arrows appeared from each wagon, killing and crippling the closest sheikah. Lizard-like lizalfos, all of them six to seven feet tall, tore through the tarps and charged the ninja, followed by a few of their even larger cousins, the dynalfos. The sheikah were unsure of what to do, run or fight. From somewhere in the chaos, a sheikah screamed frantically, "NO MERCY!"

It was close enough to an order for them. The sheikah met the onslaught with everything they had but it was too late. The monsters' first strike had surprised and weakened them too much.

Fern was like a humming bird. Keeping herself small and compact, she jumped from place to place, wildly flinging her variety of shuriken with deadly accuracy as she went. Impaz on the other hand was the complete opposite. She stood solidly with a long katana in each hand. She needed no defensive strategy. Her offense _was_ her defense. The heavy whizzing blades cut right through the shields, swords and axes of her opponents who fell before her wrath like the autumn leaves. Impton's pair of wakizashi served him well. He relied mostly on his balanced strategy block or dodge then counter.

But the inevitable order came soon after the battle had begun.

"Retreat!"

And before the lizalfos or bokoblins could blink twice, the sheikah were gone.

They ran like never before. There was no formation, just a frenzied sprint in the general direction of the Hidden Village. The sheikah spread themselves out to keep from being followed. As they fled, Impton, Impaz, and Fern came upon a wounded sheikah who was collapsed on the ground. Without question they picked him up and carried him as gently as they could while running. They reached the village unharmed but they were three of the very few who had. The alarm was raised as the villagers ran to help the wounded, spent, and thoroughly exhausted warriors. Some wives cried in horror at the state of their husbands, a sound never heard before in the Hidden Village, while others stood dreading the state of their own soul mates when they returned, praying that they would.

The trio found the spouse of the man they had saved and Impton stayed to help treat his wounds. Fern and Impaz tended to the other injured warriors. The sound of light chimes began ringing out as the healers arrived, using magic to heal those they could and ease the passing of those they couldn't.

After helping with all they could the three friends met up again. Their clothes were covered with blood and grime. Gone were their sarcastic attitudes and silliness of youth. They said nothing for a long moment. Then Fern burst into tears and hugged Impton who hugged her back and caressed her head as she cried into his shoulder.

"There, there, sweetheart. It'll be ok. You're still here. So is Impaz. And I'm here too. I'll always be here for you."

His voice cracked as he finished his sentence. Tears blurred the deep grief in his eyes before running down his cheeks. Impaz stood silently watching for a moment then asked quietly,

"Where are your parents, Impton?"

The look he gave her held more pain and sorrow than she could have ever imagined. And that was when she realized what had happened. Impton's parents had been leading the charge putting them closest to the caravan when the arrows had exploded forth from the wagons. They never stood a chance.

Impaz had never felt sorry for anyone but now she felt a deep damp sadness that overwhelmed her and she did something she had never done before. She embraced both of them in a hug. Squeezing gently, she let tears fall from her eyes as well. The three stood gripping each other as they shook with anguish for several moments before they separated and went home without a word.

For three agonizing days the sheikah grieved for their losses. Defeat in the Hidden Village was unheard of before now and the pain in their heavy hearts was like nothing they had ever experienced. They needed a new commander as soon as possible. Many of the children would be forced to grow up fatherless, some even as orphans, such as Impton.

On the third day, the pain had begun to ease. Shops opened their doors to the public, training sessions were picked up from where they had stopped, and the people began to speak to one another again. Though the fog of sorrow and pain still hung heavily in the air, the winds of time had begun to clear a new path through the blinding haze.

But not for Impton. Time had stopped for him. He had shut himself away in his house, answering the door only so he could ask to be left alone. Not even Impaz or Fern could get through to him. His father had been an icon, a hero for him. To Impton the commander had seemed immortal and invincible. But he was gone now. And so was his mother. She had always been there for him but no longer. He now understood why he had been taught so strictly to control his emotions. Fear became pain which had festered and ripened into hate. It almost overwhelmed him at how much anger he felt. Thoughts of revenge had begun to cloud his judgment but even now, in his darkest hour, the words of his parents echoed in his disturbed mind. 'Revenge never gives hope, it only consumes it. Hatred is the poison of the enemy. Become immune to it and they cannot use it against you.' These thoughts and more were pulling him back to reality and away from the door steps of insanity.

But for all of this something even more terrible was waiting to happen. The night of the third day, Impton awoke to chiming bells and there was an off-key choir screaming to the sound. Instantly he bolted upright. Now that he was fully awake he could tell that those were no bells, they were blades clanging together in the heat of battle. He rushed to second-story window from whence came an orange glow. The sight that met Impton's eyes was one he could have never imagined.

Lizalfos were pouring in from the cave entrance, screaming wildly as they spread throughout the village. A fire had started and spread down both rows of buildings due to the houses being connected the way they were. Several sheikah were fiercely fighting back but it didn't look good. Suddenly a fear stricken, battle worn Impaz slammed into the window.

"Impton grab your wakizashi and get out here, now!"

She jumped down and ran to join the rest of the sheikah in battle.

Page **8** of **8**


	6. The Tragedy of Impton: Part 2

Impton wasted no time. He hastily slipped into the outfit his mother had made for him for his birthday only a few days ago and grabbed his short katanas. He stood in front of the door for moment saying out loud,

"For you, Mom and Dad."

He kicked open the door with a yell and ran full speed to the fighting ground. To his horror, the fires had spread even further, devouring homes as they went.

"You BASTARDS!" he roared as he reached the scene.

He fought like an animal. Kicking, screaming, and stabbing, lizalfos fell before his blades faster than he could count. At one point, his right wakizashi broke against a lizalfos's small shield.

"What now, little sheikah?" he said confidently

Before the creature could think, Impton karate-kicked the reptile in the gut, stunning him. Then he jumped and plunged what was left of his broken blade into the large creature's eye. The blade wasn't long enough to kill the lizalfos but the wounded monster's eye was permanently ruined.

"Ahhhhhhh! You little monssster! I will kill you!"

The lizalfos lashed out blindly in violent pain and by sheer dumb luck hit Impton, sending him rolling several feet.

The lizalfos, still clutching his left eye, screamed madly,

"My name isss Dryko and I _will _kill you one day!"

With that he fled, and Impton tried to rise but fell back down finding his legs unsteady and weak.

"Need a hand?"

It was Impaz.

"Yeah, it would seem that way."

She helped him to his feet and he asked,

"Where is Fern?"

"Right here, silly."

She dropped from a nearby rooftop and smiled.

"Nice move by the way." Impaz commented. "That lizalfos won't be seeing with that eye anymore. Ha ha!"

"Thanks. How are we doing?" Impton inquired

"Good, all things considered. There have been a lot of casualties but the enemy seems to be losing the advantage."

"Good! Ya know, Impaz, you'll make a good first lieutenant one day."

"Guys? We have trouble."

A large pack of lizalfos was heading their way.

"Back to back!" Impton shouted.

The iridescently scaled monsters surrounded them and moved in quickly. The triangular trio lashed out at any and all who came near. Sweat dripped from their faces. Firelight reflected off their skin and in the orange glow of their burning village, the youths fought with more vigor than ever before. The fight went on until there only three remained of the original group; they stopped, seeing their fallen brethren and turned to flee.

"Fern!"

"On it!"

She tossed three stars at once killing two but the third one missed when the lizalfos stumbled, lost his balance, and fell to the ground; the deadly star whizzed over his head.

"NOOOO!" Impton screamed.

He threw his remaining wakizashi with a feral yell, hurling it with such force that embedded its full length through the unfortunate lizalfos.

"That was close." He said

The girls stared at him wide eyed.

"Are you ok?" Impaz asked

"Yeah, it was just one lizalfos." Fern affirmed.

He said nothing for a moment; just breathed heavily as he stared into the distance. Suddenly, he shook his head and said,

"Sorry guys. I don't know what came over me."

Fern began to answer,

"Well, just don't do it again. You kinda scared me for a- agk!"

She gasped deeply as a spear erupted from her chest. Fern stumbled back a step.

"I-Impton…" She whispered reaching out as she fell backward.

Time slowed to a standstill for Impton. Fern falling. Impaz dashing forward, catching her before she hit the ground. Then he came to and rushed to her side.

"Fern! FERN! Stay with me Fern. It's gonna be alright!"

But he could already see the light fading from her eyes.

"Please! No. Don't die, Fern!"

His tears began to drop, mixing with his dying friend's blood.

Her eyes were full of fear as her hand reached for his and gave it a final squeeze. Then her eyes closed and her body went limp.

"Come back, Fern! Please come back!"

He cried for a few moments while Impaz shed a few tears herself. Then, as far as Impton was concerned, all hell broke loose.

He slowly rose to his feet and started to growl until it rose to ferocious yell that kept growing and finally became a savage, blood thirsty roar.

Impaz backed away, terrified at the sight of Impton's transformation. His red eyes seemed to glow with madness in the firelight. Yet a cold, calculating look of winter also glazed over them as well. His fingers curved and shook. Veins all over his face stuck out. And then, of all things, he smiled.

"I-Impton! Impton, please stop! You're s-scaring me." Impaz whimpered

He turned and saw her but his mind was already gone.

"Time to die, you freaks of nature! Ha! ha! ha! ha!"

And with that he was gone. One after another the screams of lizalfos echoed throughout the village as they met the formidable rage of the crazed sheikah. Sometimes they lasted for only a few seconds but others…

Impaz was running with terror fueling her. Impton had lost his mind. She had seen it in his eyes and heard it in his demented laughter. She needed to find Iya, the current leader of the sheikah. She needed to know what had and was happening.

By now the other sheikah had also withdrawn from the fight seeing is how one ninja was taking on the whole horde at once. Impaz continued running to and fro in the chaos searching for the Iya.

There! She was helping a wounded sheikah to his feet.

"Lady Iya! Lady Iya!"

"Yes. Yes, child what is it?" she said holding her fellow sheikah up.

Before she could answer, another sheikah came running.

"Lady Iya! The fight was going as normal as can be expected but now there's a madman slaying the invaders left and right. We can't tell who he is but his methods are brutal, merciless and violate every moral code we have."

"It's Impton!" Impaz burst out.

"What!" Iya cried

"Impton! Fern fell to an enemy spear and when she passed, Impton lost it. His voice got deep and unnerving and he laughed like nothing I'd ever heard before."

Suddenly, the village grew quiet. Not only did the bloodcurdling screams stop but the wind slowed to a breeze and the fires seemed to die down. After a few moments it started to rain.

"Come on." Iya said leading them to the big house at the end of the main road.

The rain had started softly at first but then the drops became heavier and more numerous. By the time they reached the house, one could no longer see more than a few feet through the pounding downpour. There was still almost no wind so the rain fell straight down from the sky like tears of heaven.

Iya broke the broke the heavy silence.

"At least we no longer have to worry about the fires."

She had to speak loudly to be heard over the continuous drumming of the pelting rain.

"Yes, but what about Impton?" Impaz asked.

As if to answer her, another sheikah burst through the door into to the house. He was soaking wet and breathing heavily.

"Lady Iya. The battle is over and we are victorious."

"What do you know of Impton?" she asked

"I saw him or at least I think it was him. Whoever he was, he killed many of the enemy. So many, in fact, that the rest of us were forced to get out of his way. But the things he did weren't… right."

It was apparent that Impaz wasn't the only one who had seen the deranged look in Impton's eyes.

He continued, "He was last seen heading for his house."

Iya turned to Impaz, biting her lip.

"Impaz, let me make this very clear. You don't have to do this if you don't want to but if you feel up to it, see if you can get through to Impton. Talk to him. You know him better than anyone else. But it would be completely acceptable and understandable if you would rather-"

"No. I'll go. I'm not sure if I can do anything to help him but if there's still a part of the Impton I knew and loved left inside of him then it's worth a shot."

"Thank you, Impaz. But, wait until this rain lets up a little. Besides, it would be wise to let his rage subside before confronting him."

"Of course."

It rained non-stop until a few hours after sun rise the next day. Impaz left soon afterward, anxious to check up on her grief-stricken friend.

But she knew something was wrong immediately when she saw the front door. It was hanging from one hinge with the bottom half completely missing. Impaz found the house empty and the furniture trashed. Nothing had been safe from Impton's anger. Shards of glass, wrecked chairs and cooking utensils littered the floor. Not even the staircase had remained intact. A set of footprints in the thick mud led from the ruined front door to the storage-house and then to the village entrance.

When she reported back to Iya, the leader only shook her head, distressed at the dark news.

Impaz asked worriedly, "Where could he have gone? Where_ would_ he- Oh no."

Her face went deathly pale as her eyes widened with realization.

Iya cocked her head and asked, "Impaz, what- no. He wouldn't."

They both charged out of the room at full speed. Impaz tried to make she believe she was wrong but her logical mind wouldn't let her. He was in a psychotic rage, went to storage and then left. Put two and two together and you get… She didn't even want to think about it. When they reached weapons storage, it didn't look good. Several shuriken were missing along with many other weapons and they had been taken hastily, leaving spears, swords and other such tools of war scattered around carelessly.

Iya couldn't believe her eyes

"Great Din of Fire! He took enough weapons to arm a small army."

"And there's only one place he would have gone." Impaz stated with a heavy heart.

They shot off once again at a break-neck pace. This time they exited the village and traveled for a few miles till they reach their destination. One of the closest lizalfos camps.

Impaz gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth, and stared in horror at the grotesque scene before her. Most of the tepee-like tents that the lizalfos lived in had been destroyed, some still burning, others simply battered to splinters. The corpses of the lizalfos themselves lied scattered amongst the ruins of their small village. They had been butchered like animals with many of them missing limbs or simply cut in half. And it wasn't just the soldiers, but their families too. As Impaz and Iya walked through the grisly spectacle, it became clear that not a single denizen of the ill-fated lizalfos clan had survived Impton's wrath. Mothers had died with infants in their arms. Father's had fallen protecting their families. It was terribly clear that a morality line had been crossed. War was one thing but this... this was slaughter.

The scene around them was horrifying and it was unimaginable that there could still be a more tragic sight yet to come but as the shaken and shocked duo neared the center of the ruined village that was just the sight that met their eyes.

Lizalfos laid slain one on top of the other in a morbid, semi-circle pile. In the center of this was a large wooden pole as thick as a man. And leaning against this pole was the sad, disfigured form of Impton.

He was in a sitting position, leaning against the large pole with announcements and notices of various kinds attached to it; it was obviously some kind of public announcement pole for the lizalfos village. His back was up against this pole with his legs sticking straight out. A score or more of arrows pierced his limbs and body, save for his right arm which was completely missing. A broken spear protruded from his left side while a hatchet was deeply embedded right below his left shoulder-blade. Hundreds of wounds from light scratches to deep slices covered his mangled body. A particularly nasty gash traveled from the top of his head across his face and down to his chest. His outfit had been shredded into rags and hardly covered him anymore. Fresh blood coated Impton and pooled underneath his body. In fact, all the wounds were fresh and there was even still sweat trapped in little droplets in his eyebrows.

But the most disturbing factor of all was that even with all the abuse his blood splattered face had taken, from large discolored bruises to the deep slash that crossed it, his demented expression was still clear as could be. Even in death, his eyes had stayed wide open and his smile… that insanely wide smile was spread across his face showing broken, bent, and blood-stained teeth. And on the ground next to him were the words "I will" written in blood.

The overall sight was depressing beyond tears and disturbing beyond recovery.

Snap!

Iya and Impaz spun around and dashed to the tent from which the sound had come from. Iya tore it down and Impaz jumped on the lizalfos hiding inside grabbing him by the throat as she did so.

"Noooooo!" He screamed terrified. "Pleassse! I don't want to die!"

"Who are you?" Iya yelled.

"I'm just a ssscout! Pleassse! Let me go! I'm not even part of thisss clan!"

Iya looked at Impaz and nodded.

He sucked in a huge gulp of air as she released him.

Iya picked him up by his leather vest and leaned in close to him saying,

"You know what we are. Therefore you must know what we can and will do to you if don't agree to cooperate."

It was clear by the look on his face and in his eyes that resistance was the farthest thing from his mind.

"What happened here?" Impaz demanded

"I-I do not know. A lizalfosss came to my village more dead than alive and sssaid that a mad sheikah ssslew every member of hisss village. Nobody believed him ssso they sssent me t-to invessstigate and that isss why I am here. I s-ssswear!"

Iya let go of the reptile.

She looked around sadly at the carnage surrounding them.

"Listen to me, scout." She said turning back to him suddenly making him jump.

"We will take the body of our own back to our village. I will return here in a day with more of us and together we shall clean up this..."

She couldn't even find the words to describe it.

"Until then, tell you superiors that we are to call a truce for the next four days. Also, on the fourth day, I will seek an audience with them. We have things to discuss and I will not be in a good mood if you decide to deny me this request. Is that understood?"

"Y-yesss, mam."

He ran as fast as he could back to his own camp.

Together they placed the mangled corpse of Impton on a stretcher made of the ruin tent cloth and carried him back to the village as best they could.

At the funeral, Impaz stood watching as they prepared to burn his corpse. Iya, as the head of the sheikah, stood facing her tribe, giving a long sad speech and announced that they would never allow another atrocity like this to happen again by going into hiding. The body, sitting on bed of carefully placed sticks and straw, was lit and with that Iya declared in a loud voice,

"Impton, son of Commander Ravitz and First Lieutenant Romana, may you rest in peace."

Impton's blood-inked message came back to Impaz at this moment and she whispered sadly,

"He will."

Page **8** of **8**


	7. The Sheikah's Decision

Zelda blinked the tears from her eyes. The voice of the large woman had been full of so much emotion it was overwhelming. The head sheikah herself hadn't allowed herself to cry but her eyes still shined with unshed tears.

"Now, your majesty, do you understand why we cannot help you?"

"Yes…but-"

"No." She interrupted harshly, "I will never allow that tragedy to repeat itself!"

With nothing left to do or say, she showed her the blood-stained fragment of Link's tunic.

"This is from the Hero of Twilight himself."

She was obviously moved by the gesture. Reaching out, she took the cloth and stared at it quietly for several moments. Two of the hardest things for a sheikah to do were ask for help and accept someone as their superior. With this blood-soaked rag, Link had done both.

"He really needs our aid, doesn't he?" She asked quietly, more to herself than to Zelda.

Snapping out of her trance for a moment the head sheikah turned to Zelda and asked,

"How many… did you say were waiting for you in the basin?"

"Ten-thousand."

"And… how many soldiers… did you say were at your command?"

"Two-thousand."

She disappeared back into her deeply thoughtful trance. Without looking up the sheikah leader said flatly,

"Go. We may or may not come to your aid but may the goddesses of the triforce watch over you and your friends. Now please, leave. I have much to consider and little time to do it."

Zelda couldn't take it anymore; she had to speak her mind.

"But why should the rest of the world suffer for a long-gone tragedy? How can you abandon us like this? How long will you live shut away from the world like this for something that happened a century ago?"

The leader of the sheikah looked at her with a glare and said coldly, "I never told you my name, did I?"

"Actually, no. You didn't." She said bemused.

The seven-foot sheikah stood and walked to the unlit fireplace staring at the wall above it. For the first time, Zelda realized that there was a pair of massive katanas mounted on the wall above fireplace.

"The tragedy of Impton isn't as 'long-gone' as you think, Princess. My name… is Impaz."

There was a moment of silence, then Impaz said bitterly,

"Now LEAVE!"

Zelda gasped, wide eyed with realization. She understood now where the passion in Impaz's voice had come from when she had told her story. She found herself lost for words but even if she had known what to say, the dismissive statement had left little room for parting words so with a soft look of sympathy Zelda stood, twirled once, and disappeared in a burst of white sparkles.

With no one else in the fire lit room, Impaz stared into flickering flames, her eyes glazed over as she lost herself in her memories of Impton and Fern. It wasn't her nature to cry but slow moving tears ran down her cheeks reflecting the firelight as they did. What she had experienced as a teenager had deeply traumatized her and her mind was torn with indecision. The most important people in the land desperately needed help that she had vowed to never give. In her heart, Impaz knew that it was time to move on, to allow time to run its course and let the past be past, but what if it happened again? No one should ever have to experience what Impton had. His crazed smile and deranged laughter still swam in her memories.

And then there was the incident with the ningothos. Link was the only one to know of their terrible existence. Even standing next to the fire, she shuddered wondering which one had been worse.

But why should others die because the sheikah were still mourning a tragedy that had happened three and a half decades ago? But to Impaz… to her it was only yesterday that a silly boy had been tapping on her window to get her attention…

Knock, Knock! "Lady Impaz, may I enter?"

"Yes, come in."

It was a female sheikah.

"My lady, was Princess Zelda's visit important? Should I alert the village?"

She did not answer for a moment and when she did, it was without looking away from the entrancing tongues of flame.

"No."

"Yes, mi' Lady"

The sheikah turned to leave.

"But, tell Ivro that he is in charge until I return."

"Yes, mam!" She answered with a solute "But if I may ask, where are you going?"

Impaz answered with a heavy sigh.

"I need to speak with an old friend."

Page **3** of **3**


	8. Charge!

With the sudden burst of snow-like sparkles that accompanied her with each teleport, Zelda appeared in front of her and Link's tent. She entered and lied down next to Link.

Please, Impaz, she thought, we really need you right now.

And with those words, she leaned over, kissed Link on the forehead, and went to sleep.

That morning everyone was up bright and early. Swords were sharpened and shields were polished. The entire day was spent preparing for the upcoming battle. By midday everyone knew their place in Link's plan. The leaders of their races went among the ranks of their soldiers giving words of encouragement and hope and when it seemed they had spoken with all of their own men they did the same for the soldiers of the other races. The day passed by at different speeds for each individual. To those who feared the outcome of the evening, the day seemed to end too soon but for Link and the other battle-hardened warriors the day dragged on.

But slow or fast, afraid or confident, the sun had begun to set and the warriors of light were in position. Link stood at the head of the two-thousand watching as the sun slowly but surely crept closer and closer to the edge of the horizon. Once they met, the horizon and the sun, he and his army would meet the enemy. A forest green cloak billowed out behind him in the dry warm early autumn wind. Suddenly, a large heavy hand descended upon his shoulder. Link turned his head slightly to find Darbus's towering frame hovering over him.

"Courage, brother." Was all he said.

Zelda joined Link's side, commenting on his cloak,

"A new look, huh?"

"I've worn the same tunic in battle for years. If this is our final hours then I'd prefer to be wearing something different."

"It looks good on you."

"Thanks."

Rutela appeared next to Zelda saying, "You are brave, Hero of Twilight. We all believe in you."

King Bulblin took his place next to Darbus saying nothing but he gave Link an encouraging nod of determination.

As they stood on the edge of the basin waiting for just the right moment, Link and several others noted which monsters they were up against as well as which ones to watch out for.

There were, of course lizalfos and bokoblins. Together they made up for more than half the army in the basin and were all positioned at the front most part of the ranks.

Lizalfos were humanoid lizard like creatures. They actually looked more like a dinosaur with their large thick skull and long claws. They had green iridescent scales with long tan colored scales running from their chest to the underside of their tail. Their orange slit pupils gave them a well deserved evil appearance. Lizalfos wore leather jerkins that always seemed too small and three brown, tribal-like loin cloths with the one in the middle being a bigger version of the ones on either side of it. The cloths were held up by a belt made of the same brown leather with a row of white eyes painted around it. The eyes were very similar to the sheikah eye but without the tear or the triangles. They had three claws on each foot and two clawed fingers with a thumb. For weapons, lizalfos used a short curved sword and small square shield attached to their arm. In addition to this, most lizalfos also have a double bladed ax attached horizontally to end their tail.

Flying to and fro in the skies above the army, were the aeralfos. They were smaller and more streamlined than their ground bound cousins and had a pair of leathery wings. Another difference between the two was the lack of teeth in aeralfos and that heads were flatter and smoother. Aeralfos had a slightly lighter shade of orange in their eyes and unlike the lizalfos, whose eyes were sunken within their skull, aeralfos's eyes popped out like a salamander's. Aeralfos had dark green scales with a pasty underbelly. Like the lizalfos, they had three claws on each foot and two fingers with a thumb. They wore a red scarf and a set of loin cloths similar to the lizalfos's. Their only armor was a flat steel helmet adorned on either side with strings of colorful beads and knotted cords of twine. The exotic jewelry didn't stop there; under their scarf was often two or three necklaces made of red, blue, and purple beads along with a few large brightly colored stones cut into triangles, squares and other such shapes. Their loin cloths were just as colorful as the rest of their trinkets. As far as weapons go, a sword and parma were the choice of the aeralfos. The sword was straight with the end shaped like an arrow head to make it more deadly. The shield was a dull rusted brown around the rim but near the middle was an eight sided plate of embossed metal painted gold with a large red dot in the center.

Mixed within the bokoblins and lizalfos was a comparatively small amount of stalfos and their undead hounds, the stalhounds. They made up the middle ground of the army. Stalfos were large animated skeletons that wielded curved swords that are thicker at the end than at the base and a round shield with a wicked design of skulls stretched and warped into a disturbing semicircle to fit the top and bottom half of it. They had small green orbs for eyes that glowed from within their misshapen skulls and where there should have been an opening for the nose was a vertical horn-like growth. It was entirely attached to their face, going up between their eyes, extending a good six inches or so above their skull, and slanting slightly backward. The only adornment of a stalfos is a pair of elongated skulls of some unknown creature that they wear as shoulder pads.

To each stalfos was a pair of barking, snarling stalhounds, skeletal undead canines. They had the same green glowing, orb-like eyes of their masters. Stalhounds had patches of fur still attached to their bones as opposed to stalfos who were pure skeleton. They also had a short mohawk of fur starting at the top of their skull and ending half way down their back.

And last, at the back enormous army, was the heavy task force, so to speak: darknuts and dynalfos; the monsters of monsters. Standing at perfect attention and unnaturally still were the darknuts, seven and sometimes eight foot giants clad heavily in thick medieval armor. The armor was black with thin swirling gold lines. As tough and thick as it was there was still more; underneath the thick black plates was a full body suit of red chain mail. They wielded massive swords or maces with thick, beveled kite shields made of the same black metal as their armor.

Jumping left and right in their eagerness were the dynalfos. Cousins of the lizalfos, dynalfos closely resemble a dinosaur as well but were larger, being somewhere around the same size of a darknut. They wore thick plates of shiny steel armor with a full fitting helmet to match. They were not as heavily armored as darknuts but they were much quicker and just as strong. Dynalfos wore a jacket of chain mail with the occasional armor plate on places like their arms and legs. The helmet had two plates of steel connected jointly to protect the back of their long neck. A small armor plate guarded their back and their tail was covered in jointed crescent shaped plates that ended not in a double bladed ax like that of the lizalfos but three flat leaf-shaped blades, like spear points. Dynalfos fought using a thick round shield and a large single-bladed ax. Both of the weapons were decorated with thickly engraved lines radiating out of a large central eye.

Link shook his head. He was losing focus and it was almost time. The Hero of Twilight raised the master sword and pointed it to the sky for many suspenseful seconds, watching as the orange sun sank lower and lower. Then, when the fiery orb was getting close to the horizon, he lowered the sword of evil's bane at the enemy and cried,

"CHARGE!"

The gorons begin rolling past him at full speed, that being somewhere above fifty miles per hour. They advanced in a tightly held arrow formation with the mighty Darbus at the point. Behind them was King Bulblin riding Lord Bullbo with the bulblins, each pair on their own bullbo, advancing in a straight horizontal formation. When they were half-way down the slope, Link called out,

"ZORAS, HYLIANS, NOW!"

Water may have been their natural home but running down the edge of a basin held no difficulties for the blue skinned aquatic race. Their long legs allowed them to hold the lead in front of the hylian soldiers. When the last of them had passed by, Link himself joined the charge roaring alongside his fellow hylians.

A low, but not deep, horn trumpeted as King Bulblin signaled for his troops to begin. Several 'thwacking' and 'zipping' sounds meshed together as volley after volley of arrows rained fiery death upon the monsters. When gorons where almost there, a burning red aura began to surround their bodies becoming brighter, thicker, and denser until,

Shink! Shink! Shink! Shink! Shink! Shink!

Thick spikes exploded from each one of them accompanied by a sudden mad burst of speed, displaying one of the very few uses of magic gorons were capable of. The eyes of the poor victims on the front lines of the monsters army went white with terror at the sight of it.

BAM!

Monsters were literally thrown into the air by the force of the gorons' impact. Just as Link had planned, the formation of their opponents was shattered by his rock solid comrades. The heavy bullbos trampled countless foes as the bulblins followed behind. The zoras gave no quarter to their enemies, taking full advantage of the confusion. The hylian knights made good use of the discombobulation as well, hacking and slashing to further break up the enemy lines.

As Link joined the battle, its familiar music rang upon his ears.

CRASH! ZOOM! ZING! CLANG! CLATTER! BASH! BANG! AHHHH! DIE!

The smaller of the two armies quickly merged together as the monsters recovered from the initial charge. It was utter chaos. As a group of zoras battled oncoming waves of bokoblins, a pack of lizalfos attempted to overwhelm a single goron. Blades 'pinged' off his back harmlessly as they struck his rock hard armor. Link wielded the Master Sword and hylian shield with harsh ferocity, often using his shield to slam an enemy backward, creating an opportunity for counter attack. Darbus, like the rest of his race, used no weapons at all. Their formidable strength and naturally spiked knuckles was all they needed to take down their foes. The gorons' body spikes had disappeared; they could only use them while rolling at great speeds. Darbus, the nine foot giant, swung his deadly fists in wide arcs. Left. Right. Left. Right. Taking a step for every swing, he carved a path through the chaos. Rutela fought using a short spear and, via magic, beams of ice shot from the palms of her hands causing her foes to instantly freeze and shatter.

But, it was King Bulblin who stood out as the most impressive... and terrifying.

"BRRRRAAAWWW!"

Like a demon from hell, the king of bulblins entered the fierce battle riding his monstrous steed, Lord Bullbo. Lord Bullbo was terrorizing to behold with plated armor covered in spikes protecting him from snout to tail, completed with greaves on each leg. His red eyes glowed from holes in his armor and foam flew wildly from his mouth. On top of that, his pair of long horns extended out and along the full length of his head, curving slightly upward at the end. King Bulblin wielded his monstrously giant ax with untold annihilation, taking out countless foes with each swing.

Together, the pair broke the monster's spirit and struck terror and panic beyond imagination into their black hearts. The unfortunate victims tried to jump out of the way of the mad duo but there was only pandemonium as some jumped one way and others jumped another. Scores of bokoblins and lizalfos alike either met the giant blade of King Bulblin's ax or were trampled beneath Lord Bullbo's thundering hooves. The only ones who didn't fall were those who were impaled by Lord Bullbo's long horns.

Zelda, who was back to back with Link at the moment, commented,

"Talk about fighting fire with fire."

"More like a raging volcano." He answered dumbstruck.

An hour past by, but to the warriors of Hyrule, it seemed like a century had passed. Gorons smashed shields and armor while zoras displayed inhuman skill as they twirled their spears in wide arcs and flowing techniques. The hylians, fueled by a mixture of adrenaline and determination, countered attacks finding openings in their opponents defense and bulblins continued to fire their arrows as best as they could in the overly crowded basin. But for every monster each of them killed, two more took its place.

The sun had almost set and it was getting darker. The shadows were growing long and thin and there was no wind.

Link's greatest fear was that of Armogohma. The giant spider could quickly and easily destroy them if it got involved but to Link's (and several others) relief it seemed the massive arachnid was more of a backup plan. But Argorok on the other hand…

They started as quiet gusts of wind, barely noticeable in the heat of the great battle but grew till they became roaring blasts of air as the black armored dragon rose to the skies and sailed closer and closer to the largest cluster of warriors barely managing to survive the overwhelming forces pitted against them.

"Everyone, MOVE!" Bellowed Darbus so loudly that it echoed.

The dragon, with red wings, black talons and a body completely encased in large plates of black armor, soared over their heads releasing a red jet of intense heat, so hot it was more like a dense mist than actually flames. Due to Darbus's warning most of the warriors managed to avoid injury but those who hadn't moved in time were incinerated to ashes which were scattered to the wind by the gusts from Argorok's wings.

The giant reptile spread his wings wide, sweeping him up and around in a giant u-turn. His massive shadow seemed to drown the ground in darkness. Another breezed gusted through the basin as Argorok closed in for a second sweep.

With dread in his already heavy heart, the Hero of Twilight watched him coming. Link knew what he had to do. It was suicide but something had to be done about that monstrous dragon. Besides, he already knew he wouldn't survive this battle anyway.

"Haaaaaaaah!"

He ran toward Argorok, screaming a battle cry to give himself an adrenaline boost. Monsters who stood before him were hacked down mercilessly. Some even jumped out of the way of his wild charge. Then, just as the time was right, his instincts kicked in. He'd only have one shot at this. Sheathing the Master Sword on his back and clipping the hylian shield on top of it he reached into his belt pack and retrieved the legendary clawshots.

Page **6** of **6**


	9. A Battle in the Sky

The double clawshots was a weapon renowned for its versatile uses. As a very advanced type of grappling hook, they featured a "claw" made up of three inward curving hooks that were attached to a long chain. It was worn like a gauntlet with a trigger inside to shoot the claw and attach it to objects then pull the user to them or vice versa. The "double" clawshots simply meant that they were a pair, one for each hand.

The winged beast was about to past over him. Knowing it was now or never, Link fired the right clawshot aiming for Argorok's greatest weakness, the end of his tail. For reasons no one knew there was an object attached to the black armored beast's tail that served as a perfect target for the clawshots. It was hollow and oval shaped with bands of thick metal grating.

Clink!

It attached and Link hit the retract button inside the weapon. He was yanked painfully off the ground, being quickly drawn closer and closer to the dragon. Using his current momentum, he swung up and behind Argorok's tail, then arched to land on it, near the base. Suddenly, he felt like he was back in the City in the Sky. Argorok and Link had inevitably crossed paths there as Argorok had held the final shard of the mirror of twilight. Link could only hope that the same strategy would still work against the monster.

Using the spikes on the plates of armor as handholds, Link climbed up, using all his strength, onto the creature's back.

It was then that Argorok realized what Link was doing. Attempting to throw his mortal foe from his back, Argorok began jerking and swerving sharply in the air but Link had jammed both clawshots between two plate of armor on the dragon's back and just barely managed to hold on. Realizing this, Argorok curved upward, going up and up far above the battle field till he slowed to a standstill. They were so high that Link could see the curvature of the planet. Then at terrifying speed, the red scaled dragon dived, spiraling as he fell. Link would have fallen long ago but the clawshots were still jammed and he let the centripetal force pull him out and up. That and past experience with the Twilit Dragon, proved just enough to keep him from being hurled into the air and down to his death. The dragon pulled out of the dive just before he crashed and then Link made his move.

Faster than the eye could follow, he clipped clawshots to his belt and drew the purple-hilted Master Sword. Using it as lever, the Hero of Twilight peeled up the main armor plate that protected a large portion of the monster's back. His flying foe's weak point hadn't changed since the last time they met. Embedded in the thick red scales of the winged beast was a large iridescent crystal. It was the only way to hurt Argorok. But before Link could begin to attack it he heard a "swoosh" and instinctively rolled to the side off of Argorok's back into a free fall to the ground. Before he had even cleared the dragon's back, his long tail smashed down mere inches from Link as he dodged to the left and began to fall to his death. But the Hero of Twilight wasn't done for yet. Just as he entered the air, Link spun around and shot the clawshot, latching it onto one of Argorok's ankles saving for the moment but his signature green cap fell to the ground as it had fallen off when he had rolled off the dragon's back.

So now he was hanging from the Twilit Dragon's leg by a length of chain several feet in the air over a raging battle field. When Argorok realized that Link had still not fallen to his death, he slowly brought his head around to see his foe still hanging from his leg. He was beginning to get annoyed with Link's persistence. The dragon snapped at him with his gaping jaws and Link lashed out blindly with the master sword and was surprisingly rewarded with a hair-raising screech, like that of a demented bird, from the beast. By sheer dumb luck he had managed to cut out Argorok's long, purple, forked tongue. Link took advantage of the distraction and, with much difficulty as the dragon kicked and shifted directions without warning, managed to haul himself up the dragon's leg and onto Argorok's back. He repositioned himself so that he was kneeling one knee with the sword of evil's bane in his left hand and a clawshot firmly lodged within a gap of the plates.

With a fury of stabs and slashes, Link slammed the weak point with everything he had. The iridescent crystal cracked, then split and began to lose its glow under the barrage of heavy blows. The whole time, Link was screaming with each strike and Argorok was roaring in pain with his deep deranged bird-like sound. The dragon thrashed at first but his strength was quickly weakening and his wing beats grew more and more laborious until they spread into a final glide. Even though they were coming down at a glacis, Link knew that they were going so fast that it didn't make much of a difference. Putting away his sword and clawshot, the holder of the triforce of courage bent his knees, ready to roll once he hit the ground. The rushing air blew through his hair and caused the cloak flapped loudly and wildly behind him. He had to squint with the intense wind but he couldn't afford to blink, not at the speed he was going. For a brief moment, he felt like he was snowboarding again with Yeto and Yeta at Snowpeak Mt. But this was no time to get lost down memory lane. Link was ready to jump and the time to do so was near… but then something happened that he wasn't ready for.

Somewhere around ten or so feet from the ground, Argorok died. His heavy outspread wings slowly fell limp and his head drooped down throwing him off balance. Once the dragon's head touched the ground, his corpse flipped violently forward, tossing Link in a catapult-like fashion, through the air. Argorok rolled and flipped crazily, crashing through several ranks of monsters, killing and wounding them until his large body finally lost its momentum and the Twilit Dragon was no more.

Link, on the other hand, was still hurdling through the air. Control was long gone. All he could do was hope that he'd get lucky and somehow manage to survive the landing. He could have never of guessed who his saviors would be this day…

**ELSEWHERE**

Zelda and the others had watched Link's insane stunt as well as they could while fighting hordes of enemies. She cut down a green scaled lizalfos with her rapier and looked up to see what was happening with Link's increasingly dangerous situation. He riding the dying dragon with his knees bent, eyes squinted and arms outstretched for balance. His forest green cloak flapped behind him in the wind and his brown hair was pulled back by the force of the wind.

"Dear, goddesses... he's going to jump." She whispered in shock.

As Zelda realized he was preparing to jump she saw it happen. Argorok's red scaled wings lost their rigid form and his black armored head drooped down. It seemed like an agonizingly slow process to her but in reality there were only a few dread-filled seconds of the inevitable and then it happened.

BAM!

Zelda screamed in horror as Link was thrown into the air. He tumbled out of control praying, without much hope, for survival.

SLAM!

Link landed, not on the ground, but into a large group of bokoblins sending them flying as he hit them like bowling ball to the pins. Ironically, the bokoblin's fleshy bodies had saved his life by cushioning his fall just enough. But the Hero of Twilight was far from unscathed. Bruises and cuts covered him from head to toe along with dirt and grime. Blood had run down and covered his face from a cut in his scalp. His green tunic and cloak were in tatters and his cap was long gone. Zelda felt unspeakable dread, seeing her companion so battered and beaten wondering, praying, and pleading for him to get up, to not be at death's door or already through it. Then, as Link found the strength to weakly rise to his feet, she sighed in relief but the feeling was short lived as the princess saw several lizalfos, stalfos and a few bokoblins closing in on the Hero of Twilight. And in his current state, there was no chance he would be able to survive for long, let alone at all…

**BACK TO LINK**

His body hurt… a lot. That was Link's only thoughts as he painfully dragged himself up and tried to take in his surroundings. There was blood in his mouth and his eyes. His ears rang and everything that reached them sounded jumbled, distorted, and distant. He blinked several times and shook his head till finally the world became clear to him. Link had landed in the middle of the enemy. He wasn't sure how anyone, even the holder of the triforce of courage, could have survived such a fall. Then sneers and menacing laughter rang upon his ears. Lizalfos and stalfos! They were going to try to finish him off. And Link knew they weren't going to have to try very hard. Many of his ribs were cracked or broken, his senses were still confused and his body was exhausted beyond his control.

Knowing that this was surely his final moments he raised the Master Sword and screamed barbarically,

"Come on!"

Link may have been severely weakened but the monsters were not fools. They circled him cautiously remembering the countless members of their kind had fallen to his unstoppable blade. Even now, when their enemy was at his weakest, they hesitated. Their mistake.

"DIIIIIIIE!" Link roared.

He charged, ready to take as many monsters with him as he could when,

Pshhhing!

A pair of small gloved hands wrapped themselves around his waist and with another 'pshhhing!' he found himself running toward nothing but grass and a few sparse trees.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh… What? Where? Umph!"

Link stumbled in his confusion and fell on his stomach, too weary to stand anymore.

"Well," came a familiar voice "I'd ask for thanks but of course you're the hero of twilight. You could have handled yourself, right?"

"Z-Zelda? Uhhh, thanks."

He tried to push himself up but collapsed to the ground.

"Kagh! Kugh!" He coughed up a mouthful of blood and chuckled quietly,

"A bottle of fairy tears would be real nice right about now, huh?"

Zelda shook her head.

"You fool. Did you really expect to survive a direct attack against Argorok, The Twilit Dragon?"

"No. But I didn't expect any of us to survive this battle, anyway."

He took a long, deep, and strained breath and managed to flip himself over onto his back.

"And it looks I was right about myself at least. Get back to the battle; kill as many as you can. I know my injuries are beyond you skills to heal."

Zelda sighed. He was right. They needed to return to the battle immediately. Then she smiled, as for his injuries…

"Beyond my skills, yes but not someone else's, my hero."

He lifted his head slightly to stare at the princess but his time was quickly nearing and his vision and hearing were beginning to fade.

"Link, there's no time ~~~~ introductions but, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~, technically, ~~~~~ already ~~~~~ ~~~~~~."

There was a flash of blue at the edge of his darkening vision and then he was gone.

Page **5** of **5**


	10. Where am I?

Link found himself at the entrance of a giant marble palace. Clouds of different hues and sizes floated at various heights. Some crawled along the floor while others clung to the ceiling with the rest hovering or drifting in all directions. As he looked up, Link realized that the ceiling was much higher than it looked. The pillars that served as the building's support were as round as the legendary Great Deku Tree and had to be over a hundred feet high.

Not knowing what to do or expect, Link decided to venture forth cautiously into the mysterious building. He could only guess, but the building seemed to be a square shaped structure as the rows of towering pillars on either side him came to cloud hidden corners in the hazy distance. The Hero of Twilight walked for several minutes with no change in the beautiful but simple surroundings save for the drifting clouds.

If this is death, he thought, it's... kind of boring. That's when a booming voice sounded out.

"Welcome, Wielder of Courage. We've been expecting you."

The feminine voice sounded human but it was so loud and power, it made him flinch and cover his ears. The voice boomed throughout the building with such force that the very air around him seemed to vibrate and the floor shook with mild tremors. But, for all its power, the voice still had a low undertone, like that of a seductress.

Link look up and around for the voice above him but saw only clouds.

"Who are you? And please talk softer. Your voice hurts my ears." He called out.

Link braced himself for the loud piercing voice to answer but was surprised to hear a different one, instead.

"Aww. Now look what you've done! You've upset the poor boy with that dreadful voice of yours."

The new voice was the opposite of the first one. Loud but childish and soft like wind. Actually, it literally sounded like wind, like several echoes of the same voice compacted together with a rushing 'whoosh' sound.

"I didn't see of you stepping forth to greet our guest." was the reply

Link covered his ears again the voices continued to argue. Though they seemed to be above him, he still couldn't see the owners of them. That's when he realized that the loud one wasn't hurting his ears anymore. He could still hear her just fine and she was just as loud and thunderous as before with the ground still trembled under his feet when she spoke but it simply didn't bother him anymore.

"Don't mind them, young lad." Came another voice, this one behind him.

"They tend to engage themselves in such petty arguments quite often."

He turned to find a huge woman sitting crossed legged in mid-air. She was old but if ever there was a time for the phrase 'aging gracefully', this was it. Link guessed she must have been around ten feet tall. The old woman wore no clothing but she wasn't repulsive or unsightly. In fact, her deep blue skin was almost flawless. It was moderately wrinkled but without a spot or mark of any kind. Her dark blue hair fell down her back with long strands in front of either shoulder covering her breasts. Her bright blue eyes sparkled brightly with intelligence and understanding.

"Are you the one who changed her voice?" He asked pointing up.

"Yes. She has forgotten the effect of her voice on the fragile ears of mortals."

"Uh, thanks. So…who _are_ you and where am I?"

"Haven't you figured it out, silly?" Came the wind-like voice.

The booming voice spoke next.

"Silence! Foolish little girl."

She directed her voice to Link.

"I am Din. The red goddess of power and earth."

She floated down from the clouds above seated in a massive thrown made of a dark, rust colored stone and came to rest hovering several feet from the ground.

"I am Nayru," said the old one "blue goddess of wisdom and spirit."

She merely bowed respectfully and held out her hands in a welcoming gesture before returning them to her lap as she drifted toward Din and stopped beside her, hovering slightly lower than the red goddess.

"And I'm Farore, the green goddess of courage and life."

Farore made the most dramatic entrance of all. With a 'Whoosh' she swept down from the clouds above and flew right over Link's head in a twirling corkscrew pattern. A strong but pleasant breeze followed in her wake along with a faint green trail of light as she flew over him. Farore was the smallest of the three, being the size of a tall but not giant-sized woman. The green goddess circled around and darted forward, stopping with her face inches from Link's.

"Tee hee." she giggled childishly, "Welcome, our little hero." Then the playful goddess pecked his forehead with a quick kiss and darted away giggling like a ridiculous school girl twirling and whirling all the way to Din's right-hand side.

Unlike Nayru, Din and Farore were both clothed. Din's attire consisted of a very dark crimson toga held together by a large red jewel on her left shoulder. The garment ended just above her ankles, adding to her very serious composure. Her skin was deep red but not crimson; her hair on the other hand was the purest crimson red he had ever seen. It was so long and straight it seemed more like a heavy liquid than actual hair. Her body was toned with frighteningly taunt muscle. Her hardened features never twitched in the slightest and her bright glowing red eyes, darkened by her low brow, pierced right into his soul.

She seemed cruel and harsh like someone with little emotion but strong willpower. She reminded him of Ganondorf.

There was no name for the type of clothing Farore wore. It consisted of a several forest green cloths wrapped tightly around her body in no particular pattern. No two cloths were alike. Some were wide, others narrow, some long, others short. Their forest green color varied from dark shades to light tints. Several varying lengths of the cloths drifted around her unaffected by gravity.

Farore's skin was also a strong green with tinted green hair that was so long it would have fallen past her feet if it didn't drift around her like as if she were underwater. She looked to be a young woman in her mid twenties but her movements and facial expressions were more like that of a silly, hyperactive teenager. She cocked her head one way or another every time she smiled with big green-glowing eyes that shone bright with youth and life. Farore would twirl, twist, or flip every few seconds like she couldn't contain her energy. Due to her constant movement, color and size, Farore looked like a green grasshopper next to the mighty Din.

The red goddess spoke first, then Nayru and Farore last.

"Wielder of Courage, as you've realized by now, your quest is far from over. The shadow of the Dark Lord is returning and with it, despair and chaos."

"Only you can defeat him and heed well these words, young lad, his presence is nigh, with power even greater than before. This time… he is not alone."

"But have faith, little hero. All is not lost. I know you'll make it, no matter the cost.

She giggle at her own rhyme but was cut short by a venomous glare from Din. "Ok, I'm sorry." Turning back to Link she said. "You too hold great power and more importantly great courage. You've done this before and you can do it again! Go Link! I'm rooting for you!"

In her excitement she did several figure eights before coming to hover next to Din again.

"Now you must return to your own time and place."

"For a great task lies in front of you and there is much to be done."

"And so little time to do it."

Link shook his head and said with a heavy sigh. "I guess this means I can't rest in peace yet, can I?"

Nayru answered sympathetically, "In time young lad, you shall have your rest."

"But until then" Farore added in a very serious manner much unlike her previous attitude "stay safe and do not fear the unknown." Then her features softened again and she cocked her head with a cheery smile and said "Kay?"

Then the three spoke as one and declared,

"Your time here is done for now. Back to Hyrule with you! Awaken, Link! Awaken!

Page **4** of **4**


	11. The Second Conference

"Link, Link! Come on, wake up!" The voice was faint and very high pitched. A series of chiming bells followed closely behind it.

"Link! Please wake up! Everyone's worried about you."

He groaned as consciousness returned. His vision was very blurred and the only distinguishing feature was a blue orb floating near his face. The last thing he remembered was drifting off as Zelda said something he couldn't remember and then… waking up here.

But where was here? Looking left and right, he realized that he was in his own tent which was dimly lit by several small fires from the outside. Night has obviously fallen and he could only guess that the battle must have been put on hold for the night.

Zzzzzip!

The blue orb zoomed past his face.

"Hey, listen!"

BAM! Link bolted upright, wide eyed and shocked as distant memories pounded his mind.

That voice.

That color.

Those bells.

Those... _words_...

"Navi?"

"Finally! Link, we were starting to think you weren't _ever_ going to wake up."

"Navi?"

"Well, don't look so surprised! You should be glad I was here to save you!" she pouted

Navi was a blue fairy no bigger than a man's index finger. Her body was rarely seen because the blue glow of her magic was so bright that to the casual observer she appeared as a glowing blue orb. A pair of thin transparent wings protruded from her blue aura. They were like a mayfly's wings but longer and more narrow with a large top pair and a lower smaller pair. They made a quiet buzzing sound when she flew and Navi herself made a twinkling bell sound when she would suddenly change direction or stop.

Link stood up and took a look at himself, marveling at how he felt. His bruises and cuts were healed and his strength renewed. It was as if he had never even been on the battlefield that day. He looked at Navi who was hovering a couple of feet away from his face.

"I feel good." He said stretching. "I feel really good."

"Yyyyooouuu'rrreee welcome!" She said in a sing-song voice.

"You? Oh, thanks, but how…? It was over a thousand years ago that we were together. So how… are you here? Alive?"

"Silly Link, I'm a fairy. We don't age or mature like you humans do."

"Well, you don't mature, that's for sure."

"Hey! That's not very nice!"

Zelda entered the tent saying, "Oh good. I thought I heard your voice, Link. I was beginning to worry."

"You!" Link cried pointing a finger at her. "You knew about this didn't you?"

"Yes! And I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you, honest, but Navi asked me not to."

"Navi?" he asked turning to the blue fairy.

"Well…" she hesitantly admitted "I'm not supposed to talk to you 'cause you're hylian and not kokiri. The Deku Tree Sprout told me not to. But I've missed you so much, that I couldn't help but follow you in your new quest."

"Wait a minute… Just how long have you been following me?" his voice suddenly dropped low with suspicion.

"Since the Ilia was taken by King Bulblin at the Ordon spring and then the twilight-"

"And, you're saying that you were watching me throughout the entire Twilight incident?" His voice was beginning to rise.

"Yep! Every step of the way. Like when-"

Zelda realized where Link was going with this. "Link, don't-"

"Stay out of this, Zelda." He cut in, jabbing a finger in her direction.

"So, you mean that whole time I was getting drowned, scorched, beaten, stabbed, shot, trampled, ambushed -"

He took a breath and continued.

-pursued, hunted, poisoned, frozen -

Zelda held up her hands defensively, "Ok, Link we understand-"

"No! I'm not finished yet! I was transformed into an beast, transported to another dimension, pitted against creatures who don't die, and you were there the whole time?"

"I-I'm sorry Li-"

He held up a hand for her too stop, "Just go." He said coldly

"L-link?"

"Please, Navi. I need… time. Just… just go. Please."

Navi stared at Link for a second and turn to Zelda who only shrugged and shook her head sadly. Navi then turned slowly drifted out with a low drooping hum from her wings. The tent was silent for a long moment, but Zelda couldn't contain herself.

"Link, what in the name of Nayru is wrong with you?"

"Trust me; I held back… a lot. This is just too much right now. First Armogohma and Argorok and now Navi too?" After a brief pause he continued. "Besides, in a few hours I'll be more than happy to sit down with her a reminiscent about the past. But for now..." He sighed before continuing, "What happened in the basin? Last I remember, we were about to lose the battle."

"We've postponed it for the night. Not long after you fell unconscious, a horn was blown and the monsters began retreating. No one understood at first but then we realized it was getting too dark to see. So we too pulled back for the night."

"When, will it resume?"

"At midday tomorrow."

"Well, that was nice of them." He said sarcastically. "And what about our numbers? How many did we lose?"

Zelda bowed her head and sighed heavily.

"A lot."

Later that night, the five rulers were once again in the main tent engaged in a conference. Navi's blue glow mingled with the light of Zelda's white orb as she zipped here and there, healing injuries and washing away fatigue. None of them had been seriously injured but King Bulblin had taken an arrow through his left arm and Rutela had large nasty looking bruise that completely covered her right side.

Link spoke first. "First off, thank you. Thank you for sticking by my side and for believing in my plan. You are all true friends."

Darbus and Rutela looked each other and moment later burst out laughing. Then Zelda began to giggle. Link could only stare with a raised eyebrow.

Then, the three of them began speaking in between laughs.

"Do you have any idea how ironic that is?" Zelda asked

"You are thanking us." Darbus said

"when you're the one who should be thanked." Rutela finished.

The laughing died down and Darbus continued in a more serious manner.

"Link, my brother, we were all beginning to deeply worry about Argorok. No one had any idea of how to get that monster to stay on the ground so we could attack. Then _you _come running out of nowhere and bring the fight to him!"

"It was very brave, hero." Rutela praised. "But now, on to business."

She bowed her head and said sadly,

"For the sake of knowing our current status, can everyone here confirm the loss of approximately one-half of their soldiers?"

Darbus make a thoughtful grumbling grunt, then stepped forward and said, "I think more than half my gorons survived today. We lost about a quarter of them maybe more but no less."

"Well, that's good news." Zelda commented. "I think we can all agree that the gorons are our most valuable asset right now."

Everyone nodded in agreement and Darbus grinned widely at the unexpected praise.

King Bulblin stepped forward. His voice was devoid of all emotion as he said, "There are less than half of my Bulblins left..."

With that he stepped back into the shadows of his corner. Rutela said sympathetically, "I'm sorry to hear that, King Bulblin. We are ever grateful for your help and the help of your race."

He only nodded in acknowledgment of the words, seemingly unaffected by the fact that he had just lost so many members of his fellow race.

Zelda asked the green skinned monarch, "With so little soldiers, what is your plan for the battle tomorrow?"

"I wish to lead the charge with Lord Bullbo."

"Granted." Was Link's immediate response.

Then he addressed all of them before Darbus could object to King Bulblin taking his place at the point of the charge, "What shall we do tomorrow, in terms of the initial attack?"

"Is everyone in favor of the same strategy as today?" Zelda asked.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Ok, then." Link said enthusiastically, "Before we close this meeting, is there anything else left that should be discussed?"

"Yes." Was the concerned solid answer of Darbus.

Everyone looked to him in surprise.

"I maybe wrong but just before the battle was put on hold I thought I saw Darkhammer skulking around."

"Oh, no."

"It can't be!"

"Are you sure?"

"It was only a glimpse so I could be wrong but if I wasn't then at least we are all prepared for when and if he shows his mangy hide."

"But… how?" Link questioned to no one in particular. "I slew him in the Snowpeak Ruins. I still have his ball and chain hanging from the far wall in my house back in Ordon."

"You also defeated Argorok and Armogohma but they're here as well." Darbus reminded him.

"Armogohma still is anyway." Rutela added.

"Arrrrrrggggg!" Link slammed his fists onto the table in frustration. "How? Why? This is supposed to be the end! Not a reiteration!"

Although no one spoke it, the general thought that crossed all of their minds at that moment was that it _was _the end… for them.

Darbus took a heavy step toward Link and placed a hand upon the hylian's shoulder.

"Save your anger for tomorrow, brother. We will all have great need of it. I doubt anyone here can explain why the bosses are returning, but if we survive this battle, I'm sure we'll find out."

There was a respectful silence. They all knew that there was little chance of prevailing against the monsters amassed before them but retreat was not an option. The factor that had dragged the war on for so long was that the monsters had never formed armies, not even among their own races so this was the time to take out as many of them as they could while the monsters were all here in the basin.

The meeting was closed and the leaders of each race retired to their tents for a night of uneasy sleep.

Except for Link, Zelda and Navi.

Page **6** of **6**


	12. Old Times

They sat around one of the many campfires in the area, talking of old and new times.

"So you're telling me" Link said in amused amazement, "that you were there when I was first turned into a wolf?"

"Yep!"

"And when Midna broke me out of Hyrule Castle?"

"Uh-huh!" The little blue orb danced up and down with delight and excitement, creating a quiet series of sharp 'dings' as she did.

"Ok. But what about when Zelda transferred her life force to Midna?"

"Yeah, yeah, I was there too!"

Link's expression suddenly changed.

"So… so why didn't you help us? If you were there… why?" he looked up at the floating orb of blue in dismay.

She grew still for short moment and then began zinging up and down as she answered,

"Oh, Link! I so sorry but the Deku Tree Sprout and the goddesses wouldn't let me see you or anyone around you because you're not a kokiri anymore."

"So what? Just because I'm reincarnated as a hylian means that I'm forbidden the help of an old and close friend? I mean, seriously! I was technically hylian back then too but the Great Deku Tree didn't have any objections then, did he?

Zelda spoke up,

"Yeah, but things were different back then. Despite your hylian origins, you were raised as a kokiri and believed yourself to be one of them as well. Besides, I don't think the Great Deku Tree was about to send a ten year old boy out into a dangerous world on a quest to save to the land from the most ruthless and powerful man alive by himself."

There was a moment of silence. Link couldn't disagree with the logic but he wasn't ready to go along with it either.

"I don't like it."

Navi explained in her high pitch twinkling voice,

"The Deku Tree Sprout and the goddesses said that our time was done. That me and you couldn't see each other because it was not meant to be or something like that. But I missed you oh so much that I just had to keep an eye on you and then, when you bravely fought and beat that dragon, you were hurt so badly that I realized I had to disobey the goddesses' orders so I could heal you."

"A lot of this still doesn't add up… Oh, thanks again for fixing me up, by the way."

"You're welcome!" she squeaked glowing brighter with excitement and joy.

"So, Navi," Link asked changing the subject "What's happened to the kokiri and the Deku Tree Sprout?"

She was silent for a moment not realizing that he was being serious.

"But, don't you know?" She began zipping excitedly in all different directions. "Tee, hee. You didn't realize…?" She enjoyed knowing something Link didn't like a child getting away with a white lie.

The hero eyed Zelda suspiciously who could only shake her head with a smile and shrug.

Link glared at the princess playful demanding an explanation.

"I swear I have no idea." She reassured raising her hands in mock defense.

Redirecting his attention back to Navi as she buzzed around the campfire, he asked "Ok. Ok. I'm blind or something so what happened to them?"

"You talked to a whole bunch of them just a few years ago, you silly hylian."

"What?" Came the astounded response from Link and Zelda in disbelief.

"Yeah, you saved them. And you did it in the Great Deku Tree."

Link's mind was on overdrive, searching his memories for the kokiri and the Great Deku Tree but there was no tree that size anywhere except for the Forest Temple but-

He froze. The temple was right next to the lost woods. The temple itself was a big- no… the largest tree in the land. And then there was the kokiri symbol on all the doors in the temple. He should have made the connection then but at the time he just assumed that they were just there with no real significance… But then what about the kokiri? They were ageless children when he had known them before and he certainly couldn't recall ever seeing any children in or around the temple. But a second later that answered itself too.

"The monkeys." He said out loud.

"Huh?" It was Zelda's turn to give a quizzical look.

"You know, the monkeys of Faron Woods that live in the Forest Temple?"

"Oh, right. What about them?"

"They're the kokiri. Or they were at least, a long time ago."

"Yes!" Twinkled Navi excitedly "I thought you knew!"

"No. I never actually made the connection."

"That's incredible!" Zelda said

"Yeah, who would have thought those goofy kids would have turned into monkeys?" Link said in a sarcastic manner.

"Seriously? You've just discovered what happened to a race you were once part of and all you can say is that?"

Acting as if he hadn't heard her, he continued.

"Ha! I'll have to go look for one that looks like Mido and give him a kick in the-"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! None of that now."

"What are you? My mother? Come on! He was a jerk."

"You amaze me sometimes." she mumbled rolling her eyes. "Hero of Twilight my a-"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! None of that now." Link said mocking her own words sarcastically

"I rest my case"

"Anyway," said Link turning back to Navi. "so the kokiri evolved into forest dwelling monkeys and now they all live in the old Great Deku Tree?"

"Yep!"

"So what about the Deku Tree Sprout?"

"Oh, he moved."

Link raised an eyebrow.

"No! No! Not like that! There were a bunch of earthquakes that moved him deep within the Faron Woods. Nobody knows where he is now."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense." He said with relief. Walking trees were one of the few abnormal things he hadn't seen yet and he didn't really want to.

Zelda looked up and asked "Navi, what will you do now?"

"I'm gonna stay with Link of course!" A series of twinkling bells rang out from her excitement.

"Navi..." Link's tone was very serious. "We're not going to survive this and you can't keep saving me forever. What are you going to do when the last of us is slain in battle?"

"Don't say that! You can do it! I know you can! I believe in you, Link! And I believe in you too, Zelda! With courage and wisdom combined, you can do anything! Like that time when you were both fighting Ganon and-"

"But-"

Link grabbed Zelda's arm stopping her before she could object. She gave him a questioning look as Navi continued to chatter mostly to herself about Link and Zelda's accomplishments

"Ignorance is bliss. Let her have it." he whispered

Her eyes showed that she was thinking about it for a moment. She didn't like keeping someone like Navi in the dark about how bad things really looked but she didn't want to argue with the extremely serious look on Link's face. Besides, the innocent little fairy would see the truth soon enough.

They conversed and laughed for a while longer, talking about past adventures and such. When the fire had burned low, they all retired to the same tent and Link and Zelda fell asleep. Fairies don't ever rest as their energy comes directly from their own magic produced naturally in their bodies. Navi spent the rest of the night watching over the two holders of the triforce of wisdom and courage, content with simply being next to her slumbering companions.

With Link and Zelda sleeping in the same tent, one might think of them as lovers but their relationship was not one of romance but that of a deep binding friendship. They had become closer than most friendships ever get. After all, they had known each other for thousands of years through their different reincarnations and were the only two of their kind besides Ganondorf.

Page **4** of **4**


	13. Once again

The next morning, at daybreak, the armies stirred and began to prepare for the second day of battle. Just before noon the armies faced off once more. It was as quiet as if they weren't even there. The strong cool breeze that blew over them was not enough to sooth the troubled soldiers, many of whom dreaded this battle as their last. But for others, the wind was refreshing. They looked forward to an honorable death and planned to send a great many of their foes to the grave before they went themselves. In the end though, each and every single one of them fully understood that this was exactly what they had signed up for when they had become soldiers.

King Bulblin sat at the head of the army, blank faced and emotionless but determined. Directly behind him were the gorons and behind them were the last of the Bulblins. It was as the king had said. Only a small number of his own kind remained. Link jabbed Zelda with his elbow and nodded towards the remnants of the Bulblin forces. She gasped softly and tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of it. Link felt a similar sadness fill his heart as well. No one was going to survive this, and they all knew it.

Shaking his head, he brought his mind back to the task at hand. Looking out, he measured up what they'd be up against this time. With many of the lizalfos and bokoblins taken out the size of their army was less formidable as it used to be but now that the lesser monsters had been taken out of play, the greater ones could move forward. The darknuts worried Link the most. They were like unstoppable war machines.

Link once again waited for the perfect moment to initiate the charge. The sun crept high above their heads and there wasn't a cloud to be seen for miles but this being early autumn, its rays did not roast the warriors with the heat of summer. Link squinted and dropped his head slightly as he indirectly watched the sun. Once again there were several moments of silence. Then there another strong breeze and Link knew… it was time.

His eyes flashed with determination and strength as he cried out, "GORANS, GO!"

With the green skinned bulblin king at the foremost of their arrowhead formation, the large rock-like race curled into boulders and charged down the basin's side thunderously. King Bulblin's charge was even more wild and ferocious than yesterday. Riding Lord Bullbo, his beady red eyes shone bright with hatred and pain and a bellowing roar erupted from him as he neared the halfway mark. It was then that the others realized how much the bulblin monarch had been hurting inside. He may not have shown it but it was obvious now that King Bulblin _had _been grieving for the loss of most of his soldiers and this was his way of releasing his feelings. In an explosive charge at the ones who had slain the members of his race.

"ZORAS! HYLIANS! NOW!"

They charged vigorously down the slopes after their companions. The zora's with their longer legs, once again took the lead but were followed with the hylians close behind them. The gorons' magical body spikes began sprout from their bodies to ensure another effective first strike.

Closer and closer they approached the enemy once again. This could very well be the last time they would charge like this and for many of them, it would be.

**CRRAAAAASSSHHH!**

The impact was even louder and stronger than the first one. Once again, there was mass chaos as everyone took advantage of the discombobulation. But in just a few minutes the mass chaos mellowed to average chaos and with that, it began anew.

It was like a morbidly twisted orchestra of horror. Screams served as the chorus. The clash of swords and shields were the percussion along with the deep pounding of footsteps as the drums. The natural autumn breeze provided the wind section. It was a symphony of the disturbed with the strongest as its conductors. But this terrible music was lost on the ears of its creators for they could only hear their own individual parts which, no matter how insignificant or short lived they were, still added to the every growing complexity of this, the song of death.

In the previous battle there had been mostly lizalfos and bokoblins but the majority of them had been slain in that battle leaving room for the rest of the monsters to move forward and take part in this one.

Darbus, ever eager to test his ungodly strength, sought the strongest of foes… and he found them. Two darknuts and a lizalfos met his challenging gaze and the four of them approached each other to match strength and skill.

Only two darknuts and a lizalfos? He thought. How disappointing. I was hoping I'd at least find a challenge but I guess you'll have to do.

They halved the distance between them, clearing the area of 'weaker foes' as they went. When they came face to face there was a pause. The lizalfos stood with the darknuts on either side of him; he spoke with an accent made him drag and then spit the 's' and roll the 'r' sounds in his words .

"You are Darbusss, correct?"

"Yeah, and you're slime."

"Heh, heh. Let usss danccce a little danccce, shall we? I've alwaysss wanted to pit my ssstrength aagainssst one sssuch asss you."

"There'll be plenty of time later to dance… on your GRAVE!"

With a might roar, Darbus threw a powerful right hook but the lizalfos ducked and came up with a backhanded slash from his ax which was blocked with the hard pale rock on Darbus's forearm. The lizalfos jumped back and snarled.

"You want to kill me? Then come at me."

The goron patriarch didn't want to disappoint his opponent so he charged him with a feral yell planning to ram the scaly foe with his rough rock-coated shoulder but despite his actions, he clearly understood that the lizalfos was purposely hanging back between the darknuts, baiting him to come in close. That was fine by him. Darbus had taken down darknuts and lizalfos before. Taking on a group of them was just like a getting them both in a single fun-sized pack.

Before he could reach the lizalfos, sure enough the darknut on his right jumped in front of him and stopped the goron's charge with a forward attack of his shield. The force of the impact pushed the darknut back gouging deep lines into the dirt beneath them. But the powerful darknut's thick shield and immense strength proved enough to hold off Darbus's attack and the giant goron was forced to stubble back a few steps.

"I'm impressed. There's almost no one that can stand against my strength the way you just did."

The lizalfos dash forward and swung his ax from the right which Darbus once again used his natural forearm armor to block and he countered with a swift punch to the lizard's gut.

"Oof!" The air in his lungs burst out and he was left wide-eyed and stunned as he staggered backward.

"Let's see how much strength _you_ have!"

Darbus clasped his hands together and brought them up over his head for a massive downward blow. The dynalfos recovered himself and jumped back again behind his heavily armored companions. This time, the left darknut stepped in and met the giant goron's attack with his shield.

Screeeechck! The impact was enough to tear the round shield almost in half and bring the darknut down on one knee. The other darknut stepped forward swinging his massive sword in a wide heavy, over-head arc leaving a considerably deep rugged grove in rock armor on Darbus's right shoulder. The goron curled into a ball and rolled backward gaining some distance from his foes. The darknut whose shield had been crushed rose to his feet and looked over the ruined weapon before tossing it aside leaving him with his mace.

Standing up, the towering goron laughed,

"So, you darknuts really _are_ something special. A goron's back is harder than steel. But it'll take a lot more than that to bring me down." he said referring to wound on his shoulder.

"We'll sssee about that." Answered the dynalfos challenging his opponent.

Darbus was bluffing, of course. That blow had hurt a lot. There were small trickles of crimson blood leaking from small cuts where the blade had struck him and there was a clear line where the dense rock had been crushed, shattered and turned to a fine white powder under the impact. Despite his bold boast, Darbus knew he'd have to come up with a way to take on all three of the powerful foes at once. One at a time wouldn't even be a challenge but he doubted the other two would just stand back and watch.

Then, with his strategy ready, Darbus returned to his curled form and swiftly rolled around in a sharp arc to slam the right side of the shield-less darknut. He readied his mace like a baseball bat to meet the attack with one of his own but Darbus froze mid-roll and dropped flat on his stomach sliding the rest of the way on his leathery belly due to his great momentum. The darknut still swung but the mace, being at an angle to Darbus's round back armor and his thick blunt spikes, bounced off at an upward angle. Darbus sprung up with a left upper-cut to the monster's chin tearing the helmet off and sending it flying revealing a smaller lighter one of dark crimson chainmail underneath. Darbus quickly followed up with a right handed forward jab aimed at the darknut's covered face but the creature caught the giant goron's fist in the palm of his gauntlet stopping it with mere strength. Darbus snarled as he gritted his teeth and their hands trembled violently as the giants pitted each one's power against the other's.

The other darknut made his move, swinging his large sword horizontally for a powerful blow to Darbus's unprotected side. Darbus had just enough time to smirk before he grabbed the arm holding his fist and using all his strength ripped clear of its socket and jumped back.

Not exactly what I had in mind but I guess it still worked out in the end. He thought. The original plan had been to swing the darknut around and use him as a body shield but this worked too.

The armless darknut stood with his comrade's blade cutting into his chest who let go of the blade and took a few steps back. The hole where the darknut's arm use to be had small tubes dangling from it emitting a thick black fluid that apparently served as blood for the artificial life forms. The large thick sword had almost sliced the darknut completely in half but had stopped just before doing so. The monster made no sound as it began to dissolve and then exploded, with black energy, into dark snow-like particles that dissolved into nothing before they touched the ground leaving nothing but the giant sword behind.

"Arrrg! How? I thought you were indessstuctable!" Screeched the baffled lizalfos. He turned and kicked the remaining darknut in the leg and yelled,

"How could you fall for a trick like that, you ssstupid ssswine? Go dessstroy that goron! Now! Huh? Urg!"

The darknut held the lizalfos up by his throat with one hand.

"What… are you doing?" the reptile wheezed.

"Cowards don't deserve to live."

His voice was deep, slow, and so heavily graveled it was obviously unnatural. It sounded artificial. That was, of course, because it was.

The black armored monster gave his wrist a merciless twist and broke the creature's neck. After tossing the corpse aside the darknut picked his sword up and, to Darbus's amazement, spoke some more.

"Forgive the loud mouthed braggart. He cannot understand the way of a warrior. Not like you … or I."

"I have heard much of your incredible strength. You are a great warrior, Darbus of the Gorons. I am Darkos and it will be an honor to fall by your might. Nevertheless, I shall in no way hold back. Let us begin."

With that the darknut raised his sword and shield and readied himself for the oncoming battle. Darbus, whose entire culture revolved around honor, bowed and replied,

"If we meet in the next life, let us be friends."

And then it began. They ran at each other, the darknut behind his shield save for his raised sword and Darbus, roaring as he charged forward.

Page **5** of **5**


	14. Of Rutela, King Bulblin and Link

Meanwhile, Rutela, along with a few of her zora warriors, had been swarmed by some stalfos and there hounds. Aeralfos, the nimble reptiles in the skies overhead, swooped down to deliver a few blows before springing back to the safety of the clouds where they easily dodged arrows and thrown spears.

The zoras fought tooth and claw but were being slowly overwhelmed by the never ending hordes of monsters. The vicious stalhounds, being closer to undead than actually alive, were incredibly resilient to damage and their masters, the stalfos, would just reanimate themselves when a zora's spear turned them into a pile of bones. When it came down to the last five of them plus Rutela, the zoras were on heavy defense. The five surrounded their queen in a circle, weapons out. Rutela, herself, used her ice beams to freeze her foes giving the desperate fighters a chance. Especially since the shattered remains of a stalfos could not restore itself.

"We're not going to hold out much longer!" one of the warriors cried as he thrust his spear forward impaling a stalhound in mid-lunge.

"We can, and we will!" Rutela answered, "If not for us, than for the sake of all Hyrule! Now fight! Send these scum back to the bog they crawled out from! For Hyrule!"

Her words worked wonders. The zoras fought with renewed strength and slowly pushed their opponents to a more defensive position allowing themselves to take a vigorous offensive. Even Rutela began to fight with growing intensity. Though she didn't realize it, the discouragement of her own people drove her to give them hope and prove there was a chance for victory. She stabbed and swung her short spear, dispatching and wounding foes. Suddenly she heard an ever so soft '_swooshing_' sound and in an instant spun around and released a beam of frigid magic.

Just in time too. An aeralfos had been descending upon her, trying for a lucky shot to her unprotected back. The creature froze (literally) in its dive and its momentum carried the winged reptile in an arc the rest of the way to the zora monarch who, without flinching in the slightest, used her spear to shatter the creature into a million pieces that scattered around her harmlessly.

The queen returned her focus to the present battle. Despite their gallant efforts the zora warriors were being pushed to the defensive again as more and more stalfos and stalhounds joined the fight. Their numerical advantage gave the monsters confidence and they swarmed the spent defenders like skullfish.

Another zora fell to the enemy leaving three blue-skinned zoras and Rutela. The Queen of Zora's Domain began realize this as her final battle when there came a courageous battle cry of a fearless young zora.

"Save the Queen! Haaaah!"

A score or more of battle-stained zoras rushed to their majesty's aid, hacking and slashing through foes, stopping at nothing to save Queen Rutela. The brave group reached their queen and the young one asked her breathlessly,

"Are you alright, your majesty?"

"What took you so long, Razel?"

"It never occurred to me that you would need saving, your highness. Please forgive my delay." He replied bowing his head in shame.

She could only shake her head slightly as the fight continued anew. Razel was so devoted to serving her that he couldn't even see through her sarcasm and was probably mentally chiding himself for not being there earlier, when in truth, Rutela couldn't have been more grateful for his help.

Elsewhere, not too far from where Rutela and her zoras fought ever onward, Link and King Bulblin had joined forces combining the king's terrible might with the hero's experienced skill. Lord Bullbo had exhausted himself charging around the basin at full speed non-stop for a few hours and the king had sent him back to camp to rest. Back to back with Link wielding the master sword, King Bulblin swung his giant of an ax in wide sweeping arcs keeping many of the monsters at bay.

He couldn't miss the looks of bitter hatred and contempt in many of their eyes. Their resentment was caused by his changing of sides just before the defeat of Ganondorf. They used to look up to him as a leader, a second in command to the Dark Lord. After all it was King Bulblin who had faced The Hero and survived four times, it was King Bulblin who had kidnapped first The Hero's female friend and later, one of the children to test The Hero's abilities when he came to rescue the child, and it was King Bulblin who had led them when The Dark Lord was busy and could not. But at the end of his fourth battle with The Hero, everything changed.

**FLASHBACK**

The rain pelted Link and impaired him somewhat but he was still able to dodge the large heavy ax as it buried itself into the ancient stone floor. They battled on a large slab of gray rock in the farthest recesses of the royal courtyard. They were so far in, the fighters were almost behind the castle instead of beside it. The sky was dark and full of clouds. The rain fell strong and heavy and with little wind. A thin mist had settled throughout the expansive courtyard. It was here that Link had gone in search of a way into the castle and and it was here that he had been confronted by King Bulblin for a fourth time.

His eyes could not accept what he was seeing. The great, green skinned king had been knocked off a bridge into an endless canyon…twice, and had been severely wounded and physically spent after their third meeting at the Bulblin Camp and yet here he was again. Both of his horns had broken off near their base and large bruises and cuts covered his green skin from head to toe. His small britches that barely covered him were torn in several places and dangling threads could be seen hanging from several places on them. His red, dagged hood was in no better shape. But then Link had seen something that cleared his mind immediately. The key. He couldn't be sure but that key tied to the monarch's waist was probably his way in.

"I have come to play."

Link blinked in surprise and saw his shadow twitch on its own.

The words were low and sounded like grunts but still understandable. But the fact that he could speak at all had remained unknown to Link and his companion until now.

Swoosh!

Link jumped back just in time as the ax flew in a wide arc. Then his battle instincts kicked in and they had begun to fight.

A half-hour later they were still battling it out but for all the wounds they had inflicted upon one another, neither would yield to defeat. The rain poured as it had all morning not caring for the battle on which it dropped. Aside from the occasional breeze and pitter-pattering rain the only sounds were the clashing of steel and grunts of pain and exertion for they spoke not a word.

Link could sense something different about the king. When they had fought before there had always been a kind of mad twinkle in his eyes. The look of a deranged beast with little or no intellect. It had made him an easier opponent being foolish, careless, and above all, predictable. But now King Bulblin's eyes were softer in some way. Full of fire, yes but not a mad fire, more like one that had been brought under control. The giant bulblin's movements were more solid than before too. Gone was the trembling insanity and replacing it was… determination.

And so they fought. Link was breathing hard; his body was nearly spent. His shield arm was severely bruised from blocking the incredibly powerful blows of the king. King Bulblin had suffered countless minor injuries but due to the size of his weapon, Link could never get close enough to land a more deadly strike. Still, the loss of blood was draining the green, skinned monarch of his energy. Twenty minutes past by and they were still there. Both at their limits and trying to exceed them when suddenly King Bulblin stepped back and raised his hand to stop.

He reached to his belt and removed the key.

"Enough" he said tossing it to Link.

The king turned and strode over to where he had left Lord Bullbo who had gone unnoticed in the shadows for the length of the battle. The king mounted his steed and began to trot toward Link. Just when Link thought he would just simply pass by, he stopped and looked back at the hero.

"I follow the strongest side; …That is all I have ever known."

With that he dug his heels into Lord Bullbo and disappeared into the drizzling rain and rolling mist back the way Link had come.

With them gone, Link's shadow sprang up and morphed into a little imp. She was silent for a moment, then,

"Link… He… He spoke…"

**END FLASHBACK**

And later, not long after the fall of Ganondorf, the king had showed himself once again at Castle Town requesting an audience with the Princess and the Hero of Twilight. He had heard of the plan for wiping out the rest of the monsters and offered his services, which had led right up to this moment now.

Clink! Clink! BOOM! Clink! Clink! BOOM! Clink! Clink! Clink! BOOM! BASH! BAM!

King Bulblin blocked the numerous incoming attacks with ease while his every attack, as slow as they were, would take out multiple foes at once. Deep gouges in the ground marked his previous downward slashes while groups of corpse-halves cut at the waist marked his horizontal ones.

Link appreciated having such a dependable ally at his back. Now he could fully focus on the enemies directly in front of him and though his reach was half that of the great king's, if not less, The Hero of Twilight could still deliver a mean offensive. Like before, his shield was more offensive than defensive as he frequently used it to slam oncoming waves of foes backward and off balance.

The master sword proved its worth once again as it 'spoke' to Link. In a non-literal way, the master sword spoke to Holder of the Triforce of Courage. When in battle, the sword of evil's bane warned its wielder of incoming threats by ever so slightly 'pushing' his or her mind. To Link, it felt like he had unnaturally keen instincts. Almost able to fight with his eyes closed, the master sword guided his attacks to ring straight and true and warned him of impending attacks making him an effective fighting machine.

"Link!" King Bulblin yelled, "We need to regroup with the others. I can't hold them back any more!"

"Ok!" He answered. "Let's go, NOW!"

Hacking and slashing savagely they pushed their way towards Rutela and Zelda, who had joined the zora queen with her rapier and magic. The two along with their soldiers were being overrun by the massive waves of advancing monsters. Bokoblins and lizalfos followed by the grisly stalfos and stalhounds, their undead skeleton hounds. The feminine pair realized that they too needed to regroup and made their way best as they could toward Link and King Bulblin.

When they finally met, each felt a sinking feeling in their heart. Rutela was covered in dirt and grime and had suffered several nicks and minor scratches. The King was in no better shape. His sides heaving and dripping heavily with sweat, it was obvious that even with his immense girth, his weighty weapon had still taken its toll on his body. Zelda's skin had lost is normal luster as spell casting paid its own price as well. And Link himself could feel his own exhaustion beginning to blur his vision and cloud his judgment.

But with hope he looked to the sky and there he found the solution.

Page **5** of **5**


	15. A Dark Retreat

Darbus grunted in pain as he was thrown backward by Darkos. The Darknut proved to be one of the most powerful opponents he had ever faced. Strong, and unbelievable resilient, Darkos honored his word, fighting with everything he had. Darbus approached his mighty foe once more; this time more defensive than offensive as he tried to find an opening in Darkos's thick shield and armor. Darbus used the thick flat rock-like growths on his arms as a shield which usually worked just fine on smaller enemies but this Darknut was nothing of the sort. He had the strength to slowly whittle away that natural armor so Darbus knew he had to end the fight soon. Darkos sensed this and raised his offense to an all out attack.

The Goron monarch realized it was now or never. Trusting his instincts Darbus lashed out and caught Darkos's sword arm by the wrist in mid-overhead arc. Instantly, the artificial creature rammed his heavy shield forward to break the hold but Darbus stopped it with the palm of his other hand doing so with such force that his palm sank into it an inch or two. Then began another battle of strength but this time there would be no outside interruptions.

But here Darkos was at a serious disadvantage. Gorons sumo-wrestle on a regular basis with Darbus being the undefeated champion. The large darknut pushed for all he was worth but now he was on the goron's playing field. Darbus ground his teeth put his full weight against Darkos and slowly the darknut began to slide and step backward. Using a common sumo-wrestling move Darbus pulled his left hand out of the shield and slammed Darkos in the chest with a forward open palm knocking him off balance. Darbus then grabbed his opponent around the waist in a massive bear-hug. With the goron so close, the darknut's weapons were rendered useless. The powerful patriarch began to squeeze slowly applying more and more strength.

Creeeek!

Darkos's armor, for all its thickness, was caving in to the intense pressure applied by Darbus's powerful forearms.

"Kaugh!" Darkos coughed up some of the thick black liquid that served as blood for his kind as he struggled in vain.

The stared at each other for a moment. Darbus, with his beady blue eyes and hardened expression and Darkos whose face (if he had one) was hidden underneath his helmet. Even so, it was clear from his glowing eyes that he was returning the gaze.

"Hmph. In the next life, then… Darbus of the Gorons."

Darbus took that as his concede to defeat and with feral yell, crushed the darknut in on himself causing black fluid to gush out from the cracks and tears in the thick black armor. Then, like his comrade's, Darkos's armor and body began to dissolve into wisps of black smoke that exploded into black snow-like particles and dissolved into nothing before they touched the ground.

Darbus bowed his head in respect to such an honorable adversary and then left the scene to join his friends.

**MEANWHILE**

"All of you!" Link called out. "I'll give us an opening and then you all make a dead run for the camp! Stop for nothing!"

Some gave him strange looks, wondering if the spent hero had lost his senses; others just hoped that his plan, whatever it was, would work. But Zelda and the other leaders saw where he was going with this and prepared themselves for the sprint of a lifetime.

Trusting his instincts, Link watched and waited as he went on one-hundred percent defensive. Clang! Clash! Arrgg! Zing… It all became background noise to him as the Hero of Twilight zoned out preparing himself for the moment. The move he was about to use took intense mental preparation and excessive physical exertion.

The beast inside him stirred, "Heh, heh, heh… Need a bit of my power again, aye?"

No! Link just knew he had to fight this, this… thing. Whatever he was, he was pure evil. Even more so than Ganondorf. Then he felt it. It rushed through his veins like hot lava, invading his body and mind. His fatigue evaporated like it was scared of him and couldn't get far enough away. His strength doubled as an icy fearlessness filled his heart. It was power. Raw, untapped power flowing through him, from where he couldn't tell other than this mysterious being with an evil aura that had taken root inside him.

Now.

There was no cue, no code to decipher or signal of any kind. Link just knew. He dashed at an inhuman speed into the monsters in the direction of the camp brutally cutting them down left and right. He didn't want to accept it but he liked the look on their faces. Terror. He was feared now not just as the Hero of Twilight, The Holder of Courage, but now as a monster amongst monsters, a demon from the deepest dungeons of hell. It was… intoxicating.

"Yes, you like it don't you? My power. Take all you want, there's plenty more."

Link shook his head mentally fighting back, "No! I won't give in to using such an evil power!"

But his heart wasn't into it and his energy-drained body hungered for something to fuel it; here was an infinite and easy-to-get power source. And there were so _many_ monsters…

"Well," he mused "Just this once and only a little."

"Yay." The voice said sarcastically, "I'm so glad you're finally giving the 'darkside' a shot. You're too much of a goody two-shoes all the time."

Ignoring the voice inside his head, Link stopped and gathered his strength. The world around him slowed and quieted as he closed his eyes and focused his mental and physical strength into his next move. He crouched and held the Master Sword straight out away from his body.

Shiiiiiiinnnggg!

The Master Sword gave its familiar faint ringing tone, like that of a stroke off one blade upon another, to let Link know it was ready.

With his teeth clenched, Link burst open with ferocity as the hero executed his most powerful move.

"HYAAAAYYYAAAAH! He roared.

He spun a full 360 degrees keeping the Master Sword straight out. The blade, with its glowing red trail, reached almost twice its actual length creating a massive hole in the monster's forces.

The others, soldiers, gorons, and zoras, needed no encouragement. They made their desperate retreat through the opening and up the side of the plateau easily pushing through what few monsters still stood in their way.

Zelda glanced at Link for just a moment as she sprinted by but a passing glance was all she needed for her eyes to widen with fear.

Link stood hunched over, breathing deeply. Black smoke danced upward around his darkened figure. He lifted his head to return her gaze with eyes that were a deep red shade of dark violet. His faint smile was twisted with brewing insanity and blood lust. It was frightening for the Princess but an instant later his gentle blue eyes displaced the fierce violet-crimson and the color returned to his skin, clothes, and weapons.

For a split second he seemed dazed. Then shaking his head, he saw Zelda and cried, "Come on!" as he joined the rest of the retreat. When they reached to top of the plateau, Link, Zelda, and the others looked back to see that the monsters had stopped at the bottom of the slope and were beginning to return back to their own camp.

Darbus, who had rejoined them during the retreat, shook his head and said with a heavy sigh, "This trick won't work tomorrow."

The trick, as the goron patriarch put it, was quite simple. They had been fighting for hours and it was getting dark. The sun was sinking lower and lower into the horizon and seeing this Link understood that they could use it as an excuse to bring the battle to a halt for the day. But tomorrow, it wasn't likely that they'd last long enough to see the sunset.

They each separated to tend to their own troops. King Bulblin disappeared with Lord Bullbo into the small wooded grove a few hundred yards away. Link sent Navi out to heal the wounded and reduce fatigue and weariness with her magic. At the usual time that night, the five leaders were in the large meeting tent with Zelda's orb giving off white light and Navi giving off her own faint blue glow.

Navi had healed all of their wounds but there was still a long deep groove in Darbus's right shoulder. The little blue fairy couldn't repair stone; that was going to have to grow back on its own.

Once again, they waited for Link to speak first. He was not a leader by blood nor was he even born in a decently prosperous land. He had been a simple goat herder and even then, only the assistant in the tiny Ordon Village and yet he was now the most respected figure alive. He had succeeded where they had not. During the Twilight Invasion, Zelda had given her life-force to Link's companion to allow the imp to further assist the hero in his quest. Rutela had been captured and imprisoned by Zant. Darbus was infused with the dark power of one of the Fused Shadows turning him into a titanic flaming monster of uncontrollable destruction and chaos until Link battled and released him from the Shadow's hold. King Bulblin hadn't even been on their side at the time. In the end, it was this simple farm boy, the Twilight Princess, and the Triforce of Courage that had saved Hyrule.

"Rutela… how many of your soldiers remain?" he asked fearing the inescapable truth.

"Very little I'm afraid. Between five and three score."

"And you, Darbus?"

"The same."

His voice was even heavier than that of the zora queen's. Gorons rarely died in battle. They were just too tough and powerful. But, as was evident, even a lion can fall prey to a swarm of ants.

"And Zelda would you agree with our own numbers being three or four score?"

"Yes."

"Then tomorrow… tomorrow will be the day we make our final stand."

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"No more charging. We'll take advantage of the high ground and let them come to us. Darbus, I believe even you can agree that we don't have enough troops for a charge or such tactics anymore."

He only grunted but he couldn't deny the wisdom of Link's words.

"Then tomorrow, let us be ready. Ready to fight our final battle. If now be the time of our passing, then I say we go down fighting to our last breaths! I say we give them such a battle that bards will sing of it for years to come! I say we take as many of the bastards with us as we can! For Hyrule!"

"For Hyrule!"

They began to smile and cheer as the Hero's brave words renewed their hearts with the passion and determination.

"Yeah!"

"We're with you to the bitter end."

"Well said, Hero."

Link smiled and said gratefully, "Thank you. I can truly leave this life without regret knowing I was able to share it with such devoted friends."

There was a moment of silence.

"Ok, now on to the positioning of our troops tomorrow. Gorons in front, Zoras behi-"

"ATTACK!" "AMBUSH!"

They said not a word but for a split second all their eyes met at once and they all said the same thing with them.

This is it.

Page **5** of **5**


	16. The End of All Hope

"Hyaaah!"

Link, being closest to the door was first to grab his sword and shield and then rush out of the tent yelling his battle cry. The others were right behind him.

The moon was full that cloudless night and brighter than Link had ever known it to be. The sight before him was torturous chaos. Already they had lost several troops to the ambush and now they were losing more due to the disorganization among the soldiers. Link saw the painful hopelessness in trying to save them and cried out to the leaders, "Back to back! Form a circle!"

They immediately understood.

Some of the soldiers still had enough wit about them to notice and become a part of the circle. After ten minutes it was just Link, Zelda, Darbus, Queen Rutela, King Bulblin, and some odd fifty or so soldiers left from the mighty two-thousand that had so confidently set out to this battle. Link took a sorrowful notice that there was not a single Bulblin amongst them.

Enemies came from all sides, pouring like a flash flood in spring, the monsters came at them crazed with bloodlust, wild and feral. Link felt the weight of despair heavily on his shoulders as did the rest of them. But through that despair they fought ever onward, each vowing to take as many with them as they possibly could. Some, like Zelda and Rutela, shed tears for the end of thier comrades and themselves. Others, such as King Bulblin and Darbus, were prepared to die with honor and valor. Link himself felt the sting of hot tears as he fought vigorously but refused to allow himself to cry.

"A hero doesn't fear death, he embraces it." he whispered

The tight circle formation worked well as everyone guarded each other's blind spots. The monsters pushed them down the slope into the basin where they held their ground for an hour longer but it was soon to end.

A low pitched horn sounded out a long dragging note. Then,

Boom! ... Boom! ... Boom! ...

The ground shook as the monsters unleashed their trump card of the battle. This was the end. Link knew it better than anyone else. He had fought this boss before so he knew… that there was no way they could defeat it here.

The Twilit Arachnid: Armogohma. The colossal tarantula, heavily armored and able to fire a primitive laser of concentrated heat, was bigger than a large two-story house. He had a large orange eye in the center of his thorax from which the laser was fired and he was climbing down the opposite slope to finish the battle once and for all. Things were truly starting to look bad… And it was about to get even worse.

Underneath and around the gigantic spider were tiny odd orbs that glowed molten orange even with the bright moonlight. After a few more moments, Link realized that they were eyes belonging to comparatively small humanoid creatures scurrying under Armogohma. Link squinted trying to get a better look at them while he fought ferociously. Then he realized what they were… and lost all of what little hope he had left.

"Goddesses, save us…" he whispered in absolute terror.

They were, by far, the most feared creatures in the land. Armogohma himself suddenly became insignificant compared to these monsters. They were the perfect weapon and had been Zant's own trump card in the Twilight Invasion.

Shadow Beasts.

Created with the foulest and blackest magic ever conceived, shadow beasts were the very definition of evil incarnate. Twilight infects and morphs creatures of the light world turning them into dark twisted versions of originals. The first shadow beasts were created by Zant as soldiers for his successful invasion of Hyrule. They were originally his own people, the twili, inhabitants of the Twilight Realm, transformed by his dark power into monstrous killing machines.

Shadow Beasts were approximately seven to eight feet tall but they hunched over on their large flat palms, bringing them down to six feet give or take. They had long lanky limbs and moved with a shuffling gait much like a large gorilla.

But these ones were different from the ones Link had fought before. The first ones were slower, calmer, and more sluggish. They wore a plate-like head piece that covered their face with only their thick strands of black hair growing out from under and behind the plate. Yes, these new shadow beasts were different and in a second, Link knew the horrific reason. There was no longer a portal to the Twilight Realm so the twili could no longer serve as hosts so who better than the humans and hylians?

These new shadow beasts were about a foot shorter but were still large creatures. As Link observed their approach as best as he could while defending himself against endless attack, his mind flashed back to what he had been told.

**FLASHBACK**

"You know of the Shadows Beasts, I assume?"

"Yes. They've cause me an endless amount of pain so far. You don't know a trick to defeating them do you? A hidden weakness or something?"

"Listen, Hero, and listen well. The shadow beasts are terrible and evil, yes, but there is another kind of Shadow Being. Only a few were ever created and they were soon destroyed. But not before we learned as much about them as we could. We call them the ningothos. They are so black-hearted and naturally evil that light will not shine on them. They appear as a being of infinite darkness and are blacker than the blackest night. These creatures are faster and more intelligent than the original shadow beasts. The hosts are not twili but hylians or humans. They take joy in killing, anger in losing, and bliss in the torture of living beings. And most importantly, the ningothos do not hide their faces as shadow beasts do and furthermore, listen very very closely and understand, if one is to look into the eyes of a ningoth, he will go unimaginably insane from fear and shortly after, take his own life."

Link's eyes widened at the disturbing facts.

"These creatures are not to be trifled with. If you ever see one, run as far and fast as you can. They cannot be killed. Believe me on this, I know." She finished with a hint of sorrowful experience.

"You found one?" Link asked in wonder.

"Not exactly."

Link knotted his eyebrows in suspicion and curiosity.

"Then how-"

"We created one."

**END FLASHBACK**

It was night but the moon was unnaturally bright and bathed the battle with soft bright moonlight. The ningothos were close now. The men around Link began to drop screaming in the most horrific manner before a monster would finish off them off.

"Don't look at their eyes!" Link yelled.

"What are they?" Zelda asked.

"…Death."

The one thing that gave Link a little hope was that he knew that gorons and zora's would be unaffected by the ningothos stare but the closer the ningothos got the more he began to realize that something was different. Some ningothos were taller and slimmer than the normal ones while others were just as tall but much rounder and very rugged looking. Then the zoras and gorons started screaming in terror around him.

Link looked around in confusion for a moment before looking up slowly and saying as limitless terror, dread and despair consumed his soul with the knowledge of what he knew he would see.

"Oh my goddess..."

His mind could not except was he was seeing but there it was. The hylians and humans weren't the only victims serving as ningothos. The taller slimmer ones were zoras and the bigger rounder ones were gorons.

More and more soldiers began to fall to the destructive gaze of the ningothos. They were being overwhelmed. And once Armogohma reached them… it would all be over... if they even lasted that long.

"Haawooooooooo!"

It was the cry of a lone wolf but this was no ordinary howl. It was extraordinarily loud and seemed to shake the very air with magical power. All eyes turned to the camp of our heros from where the powerful sound had come from. Hylian, zora, goron and all of the monsters as well, stopped what they were doing to see what it was that had captured their immediate attention.

There, on the very top edge of the plateau, stood a large female silhouetted against the bright moon behind her. She was outfitted in midnight blue form fitting clothes, light armor sabatons and fingerless gloves. Her long pony tail drifted to her right with the soft breeze. By her side was a wolf with fur so golden white that he glow softly even in the bright moonlight. His right eye glowed deep crimson while his left was closed with a jagged scar running through it.

"You!" Her voice was loud and full of might as she pointed a finger and swept it across the battlefield.

"All of you! You are all creatures of the day! You rise with the sun! But we…"

Smaller silhouettes began to appear at her side.

"We are creatures of the night!"

She unsheathed two large katanas from her back.

"We are the Sheikah! And we rise…"

There was a sudden gust of wind that coxed all the surrounding leaves to dance around the Impaz and her followers. Her voice, though only a whisper, was carried by the wind to the ears of all below her.

"-with the moon."

"Haaoooowww!"

The Golden Wolf howled once more and began the charge down the hill, signaling for the warriors to attack.

"Arrrrrrrhhhh!"

The blue clad ninja of the sheikah tribe began to rush over the edge of the plateau like a dark tsunami. The intent to kill in their eyes shone brightly through the night, striking untold terror in the black hearts of the monsters below.

The Golden Wolf, running at the head of the charge alongside Impaz, swiftly rose to his feet and transformed into the Hero's Shade, his true humanoid form.

Armogohma lowered his thorax and the grotesque eye on his back began to glow orange then red as he readied his laser attack.

Impaz, at the head of her army, wasn't fazed a bit.

"Sheikah! Armogohma must be taken out first!"

What happened next went into the history books for all time and eventually became legend.

Smoothly and easily cutting their way through the horde of monsters, the sheikah dodged around the super heated beams that the colossal arachnid sent their way until they reached him. Without breaking pace, they began to climb Armogohma's legs, hacking at the spaces in between his armor as they went. Like little ants they overwhelmed the monstrously huge arachnid. The giant spider began to panic and struggle in vain, realizing what was going to happen. Using their various blades, several of them pried and held the eye open while Impaz, standing over the exposed weak-point, raised her giant dual katanas and roared out thunderously,

"Look monsters! For you are all next!"

And with that she plunged her blades deep within the eye in a 'X' formation and then crossed them slicing the eye in half.

Armogohma screeched shrilly in pain and went crazy trying to shake off the ninja causing the ground to quake violently but for all his efforts, not a single sheikah lost their grip and Impaz was still able to cut the eye again in the same manner leaving two devastating slices in it with one intersecting the other in a perfect cross.

The Twilit Arachnid slowed to a stop and jerked the last of his death throes before crippling to the ground. The sheikah leapt from his body as it began to dissolve into wisps of smoke-like powder, black as coal. Then he exploded and dissolved before the particles touched the ground.

"Now, sheikah," Impaz cried, "destroy them all!"

Link and the others cheered and roared their battle cries with renewed vigor and hope. The blue clad ninja of the night wrecked terrible havoc on the monstrous enemy. The remaining bokoblins were wiped almost instantly. The lizalfos proved to be just a little more of a threat but nothing an angry army of sheikah could handle without breaking a sweat. It was when those two minor groups of foes were taken out that the real struggle began. Plenty of looming darknuts, crafty dynalfos, deathly stalfos and their eerie stalhounds still remained; plus the aeralfos who's numbers had not decreased but by the slightest margin due to their evasive fly capabilities. The ningothos were still advancing as well but were quickly being cut down by blue clad ninja. The sheikah truly did not know not the meaning of fear and because of it, they were unaffected by the unholy stare of the black abominations.

The Hero's Shade was a whole story unto himself.

Page **6** of **6**


	17. The Shade of a Hero & Unstoppable Impaz

He was an undead ghost skeleton adorned with what was once was a golden suit of armor. The passage of many centuries had caused the armor and helmet to lose its luster and fade black with extreme age. The thick helmet covered much of his face as well as his head. It had three thick metal pieces going left, right and up forming a three-part cross. The helmet and armor were cracked and missing bits here and there and his round shield looked no better. With a long forking crack, it, like the armor, had once been a beautiful golden piece too, but now it was dirty, rusted and splotched with black grime. His sword was cracked as well but still retained most of its white luster save for the cross shaped hilt which had the same faded appearance as the rest of his armor.

As for the Hero's Shade himself, he was a skeleton with a ghostly outline of a body. His right eye glowed deep red from within his skull while the other eye socket was vacant filled only with black darkness. The moonlight made his armor glow and added to his ghostly appearance. That combined with a face that was complete skull covered by the weathered helmet made him a frightening sight indeed.

His true identity was clouded in mystery and he had only ever showed himself to train Link to use the seven hidden sword skills. Many, including Link, believed that he was a previous incarnation of himself from thousands of years ago but no one could be sure. In any case, he was a friend and that was enough for Link.

The Hero's Shade worked with solid efficiency. He was smooth and unable to be thrown off balance by the dynalfos and stalfos that rushed him. His thick shield and large sword proved to be in much better condition that they appeared as they cut through flesh and bone and blocked multiple attacks.

A dynalfos laid eyes on him and decided to test his luck. But playing fair wasn't something he felt obligated to do. Sneaking around, he came at the Hero's Shade from behind and embedded his single bladed ax deep within his victim's back.

"Ugh!" Came the short cry of surprise the Hero's Shade stumbled forward.

The evil giant of a lizard stepped back and smiled under his helmet.

"Not sssso sssscary now, are you?" he sneered.

The Hero's Shade stood up straight and turned around. Without a word he dropped his shield, reached around and with great effort, yanked the big hatchet from his back.

Looking over the weapon causally, weighing it in his hand, the Hero's Shade turned his head and glared the wide eye dynalfos saying with a ghostly echoing voice.

"What about now?"

The fear stricken creature turned to run but with unbridled strength the Hero's Shade hurled the weapon and ironically inflicted the same wound as the monster had on him. The only difference: the Hero's Shade was immortal... seeing as how he was already dead.

Impaz was slowly working her way to Link and the others who had not broken their circular formation, though they had spread out a good distance from each other.

It was ridiculously easy for her to cut through the crippling ranks of the monsters. She walked as if it were a quiet normal autumn night, only moving to cut down those foolish enough to stand in her path. Trying to swarm the unstoppable woman, the monsters used their numbers against her. Three darknuts, a dynalfos, and two stalfos with a pair of stalhounds each began moving to block her path. Circling around her like vultures were five aeralfos. Impaz didn't even give them a blink in their direction and just continued to advance through the discombobulation.

The approaching monsters quickly picked up their pace and soon broke out into a run toward her. Impaz's eyes flashed and she readied her swords.

"Come to me." She whispered eerily.

Using every ounce of her monstrous strength, the seven-foot giant of a woman swung both her five-foot katanas down onto the nearest darknut who raised his shield to deflect them. Even with the three-inch plus steel of the shield, the blades left a considerable scar when Impaz pulled them back. One of the aeralfos dived down as another darknut moved in to attack. With inhuman flexibility she bent over backwards digging her swords into the ground behind her to avoid losing her balance, dodging the darknut's sword swipe. Using her blades, Impaz pulled her body up backwards and kicked the incoming aeralfos throwing him of balance with one foot and then followed up with a kick from the other that landed with the point of the sabaton being driven _through_ the top of his head. She landed the maneuver perfectly on a foot and bended knee. Now they all came at her at once enraged by her smooth demeanor and barely noticeable smirk.

"It shall end before you can blink." She whispered, repeating an ancient sheikah saying.

Her smile disappeared and was replaced with untold fierceness as the ninja dashed forward and slid right underneath the foremost darknut. Smoothly coming up and spinning around, Impaz drove one of her swords between his helmet and back armor piece. The blade erupted from the front of the helmet dripping black with 'blood'. With a swift jerk, she pulled the katana back and turned around as she swung up, stopping an aeralfos in mid-dive while blocking the sword strike of a stalfos to her left with the other katana. Sweeping her leg around in a swift and powerful kick, she knocked the stalfos feet out from under him but before he hit the ground he yelled in a garbled rasping voice,

"Go!"

His pair of savage stalhounds pounced even before the command was finished. Impaz side-stepped both the ferocious attacks one after another and landed a brutal kick to the closer of the two in his gut.

"Arrrrp" A ghostly yelp escaped from the wounded creature.

The pointed sabaton, coupled with her immense strength and the stalhound's rather fragile bone structure, tore into the undead canine's 'body'. It rose a good few feet into the air before hitting the ground and breaking apart into a rubble of lifeless old bones.

But by this time Impaz had already slain the other stalhound with a heavy slash and another aeralfos foolish enough to close in for an attack.

The dynalfos charged forward raising his single-bladed war ax and screaming indiscernible curses and threats in his native tongue. To her semi-right the other two darknuts began to approach gaining speed slowly from a brisk walk to a jog and then evolving into a slow heavy run. To her left the remaining stalfos simply pointed and his stalhounds began to rush full speed at her with their master following closely behind. At the same time, the three surviving aeralfos came at her, two swooping from the sides and the one nose-diving from above.

Impaz suddenly relaxed and collected herself for a moment. Everything slowed down. She took a deep breath, even closed her eyes for a moment and then, once again, showed the true terrifying power of the Sheikah Tribe.

She ran at the grisly skeletal trio first. With a short hop-skip she jumped forward and plunged her one of her swords through the closest stalhound pinning it to the ground. Using the sword as a pole vault combined with her momentum, she flew at the next stalhound and crushed it under both her feet. Still moving, she rolled forward past the stalfos and came up behind him with a spin severing his spine in two before he could even react.

Immediately afterward, she went on the defensive, as the aeralfos dived-bombed her. She blocked one and ducked for the second, but when the last one was about to land an attack, the formidable blue clad sheikah used one katana to parry the flying reptile's sword and impaled him on the other down to the hilt. He made a gurgling sound somewhere between a croak and a squawk and then died. Impaz flicked her sword throwing the corpse over her shoulder with ease.

She glared at the remaining aeralfos's and the dynalfos that had joined them.

"Come on." she said darkly.

So they did. The aeralfos circled around to come at her from each side again and the dynalfos charged at her directly. Impaz crossed her swords over her chest and just when it seemed as if she would do nothing to defend herself, she crouched whipped both of her giant katana's out at arm's length letting the aeralfos' own momentum carry them into the waiting blades and before the dynalfos could react, the lightening fast ninja brought her swords in front of her and dashed forward, running each four-foot blades through the giant lizard roaring as she did so. The swords' length was great enough to allow their bloodstained ends to appear from the dynalfos's back even with the aeralfos still hanging from them. She swiftly pulled the blades back watching all three corpses crumble to the ground.

"And last but not least." she whispered turning around.

The darknuts were finally upon her. The closer one swung his giant mace horizontally at the mighty ninja but she jumped over it using one of her katanas as a mini-pole vault to carry her upward. Landing on his broad shoulders, Impaz crouched, sheathed her right sword and hooked her fingers under the front of the darknut helmet and with a swift jerk pulled the helmet off taking the chainmail one with it to reveal the monster's face.

Link, and anyone else who happened to catch a glimpse of the helmet-less darknut, gasped in sickened repulsion at the grotesque sight. The darknut's face was nothing more than a coiled knot of clear segmented tubes pulsing with thick black fluid. Two yellow-orange glowing knots of much smaller tubes sat where eyes should have and the tubes bent and curved to create a twisted version of a mouth that smiled and said while looking up at the ninja,

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Impaz drove her sword deep into the top of his exposed head. Leaving it there, she jumped high and retrieved her other sword from its sheath. With a loud battle cry she came down swinging the sword over her head at the other darknut who blocked it with his shield but Impaz immediately rolled around him.

With a mighty yell, the giant of a woman drove her sword _through_ his back armor piece. He only grunted and began to turn around but a second later, Impaz hit a tiny button on the hilt of her weapon and a dagger-like blade, equal in length to the hilt from whence it came, appeared. She pulled the sword out and flipped her hand so the she held it backhand style. Dashing around him, she stabbed him through the armor gap of his arm pit with the dagger, cutting through the chain mail underneath. Dashing around him again she found another gap in his right leg and another behind him in the lower torso. Impaz left him spinning in circles as the bulky darknut tried to keep up with her speed.

The previous darknut, with the other massive katana still embedded in his head of tubes and down through his body, was still standing. Not quite dead or but not quite alive either as his artificial body struggled vainly, clinging on to his diminishing life as it quickly seeped away. The black armored knight of evil began to sway unsteady as Impaz continued her assault on her newest target.

Stab. Move. Stab. Move. The simple maneuver proved to be chillingly efficient but with a sudden turn and a heavy backward strike with his sword, the darknut anticipated her move and counter attacked. Impaz, with, inhuman speed, ducked just in time but was slammed hard in the chin by the rim of her opponent's shield as he swung it upper cut style, knocking her up and back.

Impaz stumbled and did a few elegant backflips to distance herself from her enemy. The darknut stayed where he was, sticking to the traditional darknut style: wait, defend, and attack. Impaz's chin was badly skinned and felt like it might be broken. Crimson blood dripped steadily from the frightening wound. She dabbed at it gently with her hand soaking the back of her glove red with blood. Her long white ponytail had gotten loose allowing her hair to fall over her shoulders and her bangs over her red eyes.

Breathing heavily, the large sheikah warrior looked up fearlessly at the darknut. Her cool demeanor had disappeared and was replaced by a venomous stare full of malice and savage fierceness. Leaning forward, she snarled at the waiting opponent. The silver moonlight gave her hair a sparkle effect and created deep shadows on her face. Her brute sized combined with this sudden change from smooth to savage, made Impaz a sight not soon forgotten.

Pulling back her arm back, she threw her sword with full strength embedding, dagger end in the ground, few feet in front of the silently waiting darknut.

She missed. He thought She must be as exhausted as she looks.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

"Yaaaaahhhh!" With a fierce yell, Impaz charged her opponent.

You're mine. He thought. The darknut raised his sword and brought it down with all the force he could muster but Impaz dashed forward and slid between his legs. Standing up, spinning around and bending her knees all in one move, she wrapped her arms around his armored thighs. With a mad burst of strength, the brute of a woman pushed up with every muscled in her body and actually _lifted_ the heavily armored foe up off the ground over her head and fell with a backwards twirl impaling him through the back on the upturned katana. Just as she was standing up, the first darknut began to finally topple forward toward her. Before he hit the ground, she reached out and retrieved the blade from his head with an elegant flourish and plunged it through the helmet of the second darknut, finishing him for good.

She held her pose for a few moments as the darknuts' bodies softly exploded into black power that drifted down around her and dissolved before it touched the ground. After hastily bandaging up her chin and retracting the dagger back into her sword, she continued to make her way to Link. Few monsters got in her way and some even climbed over each other to get of it. Breathing heavily with black artificial blood splattered all over her, she stood back to back with Link and said with a hint of sarcasm,

"You're lucky, this time, hero. I almost decided not to come."

"But you did anyway. Thank you, Impaz." Link said gratefully as they fought off the incoming waves of monsters.

"I can't abandon the Hero of Twilight in his greatest hour of need; what would that make us? Win or lose, you're all going to go down in history for this and I will not have our tribe go down as the ones who hung back like cowards in the shadows."

"You couldn't just do a favor for an old friend?" he asked sarcastically.

"We are the shinobi of shadow. Our talents come with a price. But I suppose this one's on us, my friend." She answered with smile.

He knew that was her way of saying 'Your welcome' so he just shook his head and smiled. As Link looked around, he realized they were still vastly outnumbered. Even with the incredible skills of the sheikah, the outcome still looked bleak.

"But why," he asked after a few moments, "did you bring so few? We are still greatly outnumbered."

With a sly smirk, she answered,

"You don't really think we came alone do you?"

Page **6** of **6**


	18. She's Back! & The Monsters of Monsters

"Twili warriors! Stand firm! Our cousins of the light need our help. Link saved our world, now let's save his! Ready now? Attack!"

Link's heart skipped a beat. His heart filled with a mix of excitement, love, wonder, and longing so intense that his eyes began to fill with tears and his body shook with passionate emotion. With a powerful slash he pushed the stalfos he was fighting backward to allow him a moment to look and conform this was no dream.

Once again on the same hill, with the full moon looming behind her, there stood a silhouette of a tall slender woman. Her skin was pasty white with smooth elegant patches of black covering her bosom, left leg, and both arms. Swirling and squiggling gear-like symbols, glowing mint green, embellished her lithe limbs. She wore a long and wide loin cloth skirt held up by a thin beaded wire with a hooded semi-sleeved cape. Both black articles of clothing were lined white and had the same kind of symbols as her skin but were white much fuller than the thin green ones. The hood hugged the sides of her head and came to a blunt, slightly curved upward point near the back, being held up by some kind hair piece.

Her face was elegant with small petite features. Her piercing crimson eyes were set off by fiery yellow sclera. Their oriental shape was emphasized by thick dark eye shadow that curved up on either side. Her black eyebrows ran the length of her eyes curving up, perfectly parallel with the shadow. Between her eyes and brows was the slightest hint of soft violet. A small delicate pointed nose sat on her long narrow bridge resting just above her soft purple lips. Her golden-orange bangs, parted in the middle, curved back and around her eyes with the ends hugging her cheekbones. Two thick long strands fell out from either side of the hood curving inward at her collar bone and being clasped by at her bosom a dark-tan stone piece.

On her forehead rested an ornamental talisman consisting of two metal pieces weaving around each other in a condensing spiral until they ended, meeting on the bridge of her nose between her eyes. It was held up by a couple of threads attached to the top of her hood. The center piece for the design was a small red stone.

She was the Twilight Princess; better known as Princess Midna. She was considered to be the most beautiful being to have ever existed in both the light and twilight worlds surpassing even that of princess Zelda herself. In her right hand was a long black javelin decorated with green lines similar to ones on Midna's skin.

Following her command, her army of twili come pouring over the rim of the plateau. The twili, no longer cursed by Zant's magic, had regained their former appearance. They were an elegant slender race with pasty, black-patched skin, like Midna's. They all had red eyes but the color of their sclera changed between them. There were dark and light blues, browns, dull greens, a few blacks and even fewer oranges. The men had mostly short spiky red hair though there were a few dark blues and silvers. The women's hair showed an even mix of fiery oranges and dark blues with some silvers and bright reds. They wore intricately decorated light armor of many kinds, made of a black metallic substance. Underneath, was a tunic and pants for the men and for the woman, short skirts or long loin cloth skirts like their monarch's. All of the clothing was made from a black silky material so smooth that seemed to have liquid qualities. Their footwear consisted of light boots and pointed sabatons made of the same material as their armor.

Their vast numbers finally equaled out the numerical differences in the opposing armies and finally leveled the playing field. The twili swarmed the monsters as smoothly as the sheikah had. They slew their foes on the run never stopping until they were in the middle of the basin where they could inflict the most damage on the enemy. With swords and javelins of the same black metal, they cut down the monsters with ease. Their blades cut throw the heavily armored darknuts like butter and their lighting reflexes deflected multiple attacks at once. They even stopped arrows with their blades. They were also apparently excellent jumpers due to the fact that several of them, mostly the females who had longer legs than the men, jumped up several feet slaying the evasive aeralfos. A small group, mainly the men, used blowpipes with onyx black darts that, upon contact with their target, gruesomely caused it to almost instantly dissolve into a black gummy substance that would quickly dry into ashes and be swept away by the wind or absorbed into the rivulets of blood-soaked mud. The ningothos had truly met their match for now they were up against a race that was as dark and powerful as they were. Their evil stare only made the mighty twili laugh.

No one could deny, the twili were beautiful and graceful. Elegant in every movement from the slightest twitch to complex evasive and offensive maneuvers, they seemed to defy natural creation. The males had high strong cheek bones, blazing spiky hair, and taunt, lean figures and the females had slender curvy figures, petite features, and low seducing eyes. Both genders had flawless skin.

The ningothos were forced to fight with everything they had just to hold their ground. The goron and zora versions shared several similarities with the hylian and human versions. Their skin was untouched by the light giving them the same look of infinite blackness with blood vessels that glowed bright crimson in stark contrast. The beady blue eyes of the gorons and the soft green eyes of the zora's were now both molten orange in the center fading to red on the outsides and their noses were altogether gone. But each version was very unique unto itself. It was like the dark and horrifying process through which they had been created had made extreme versions of their natural characteristics.

The goron versions were very very big, anywhere between eight and ten feet tall making some of them bigger than even Darbus and King Bulblin. The rock that naturally plated on the backs, shoulders and forearms of the gorons had become thick rugged spikes. They moved on all fours like an ape and exerted a drooling barbaric nature with only the most primitive of intellect. Their mouth was twisted into a wicked grin less extreme than that of the ningothos but was no less creepy because of it. Their voices had been reduced to gruff savage grunts and yells. These goron ningothos (or goronthos) fought like wild animals using their brutish strength to slaughter many at a time. They tore massive chucks of earth from the ground and hurled them through the air like giant boulders, causing great damage and confusion to both sides. They would even tear off their own body spikes and use them as makeshift projectiles. The entire time they fought, the goronthos giggled in a dumb childish manner of stupidity.

The zora versions (also known as zorothos) were no bigger than their original counterparts and further more they didn't seem to grin at all. In fact their featureless faces were void of all emotion and not a sound escaped their hard-set lips. Their movement was smooth and confident and they ignored everyone else at first as they just simply glided into the battle. It wasn't until they were challenged that they… well… did something.

When faced with an attacker, the zorothos would stare blankly at their opponent for a few moments, then suddenly break out into a wide creepy grin showing off a row of sharp jagged teeth. That same signature laugh would escape their evil lips and then they'd attack with blinding speed. They were much faster than the sheikah and the twili. In fact, when the zorothos attacked, their body would become a black blur with a trail of darkness in their wake as they dashed around their foes. The zorothos were so fast that they could cross the entire basin in a split-second and it looked more like teleportation than anything else.

Their actual fighting style fascinated and disturbed Link. The fins on zorothos elbows worked like boomerangs and could be removed and reattached instantly. The fins were sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone alike and the zorothos also used them as weapons for close combat.

Everything about them he knew he had seen before but where? The memory evaded his grasp like the ever fickle mist of the morning fog.

Their attacks consisted of karate type moves that stunned their opponents and allowed them to follow up with a finishing move. It was their defensive qualities that startled Link the most.

Two twili and a sheikah were closing in on a wounded zoroth when there was a buzzing and crackling sound that jarred Link's memories and for a second he racked his brain trying to remember where he'd heard that sound before but he didn't remember it in time.

Craaa-BOOOOM!

With a loud ground shaking roar of thunder, crackling blue bolts of lightning rose up around the zoroth in spiraling waves shocking the twili and the sheikah for a moment before throwing them back violently.

That was when Link remembered... They were the ocean zoras from countless centuries ago. He should know since he had become one of them.

In one of his previous incarnations, he had come into possession of a magical mask that gave him the ability to assume the body of a zora and had lived with them for some time afterword. In that time he learned much about their culture and species.

Back then, they still had beady black eyes with sharp pointy features and lacked the graceful gentle qualities of the zora in the current era. They had been more crude and fierce back then. They were still peaceful and friendly. It was just the nature of the land of Termina. It had been a harsher wilder place than Hyrule. The monsters had been bigger, more numerous and much more diverse. The boomerang fins, karate fighting style and defensive electrical barrier had all been signature to the zora race, but over time, as the land had become less harsh, the zoras had become softer as well. In fact, their electrical abilities had transgressed into simple bioluminescence in the form of tiny dots that lined the bridge of their nose and eye brows.

The glowing molten eyes of all three of these creatures struck fear into the original versions by drilling into their memories and reminding them of their weaknesses. For the hylians, they were forced to face that they were the weakest of the three species there in terms of physical power. Their only true power was intellect but the stare of the ningothos infected their minds making them see this as a flaw in themselves and in turn, drowned their will power in all consuming anguish.

The zorothos reminded the zoras of their dark past. Thousands of centuries ago, their ancestors had repeatedly attacked the old incarnations of Link and had hindered his quest to their full power. They had been a truly barbaric species back then and even though it was so long ago, they still carried the memories with them in the ancient texts and wall carvings. The zorothos made the zoras feel like worthless creatures for the crimes of thier ancestor's and in turn drained them of thier energy and replaced it with fear.

The gorons were the biggest things alive but now, being faced with something bigger, stronger, and more savage than they were, their spirits were broken by the lethal stare of their darker versions. The gorons, like the zoras, saw their past in the eyes of the goronthos. They were reminded that of all the races in Hyrule, the gorons were the least intelligent and the most tribal. They were forced to realize that the zoras and hylians had advanced technologically and they were still living in stone age conditions. The gorons began to ask themselves if the other races despised them for their lack of intelligence and crude nature.

The unholy eyes of these monsters destroyed the fighting spirit within each their victims and replaced it with an overwhelming feeling of worthlessness and depression that eventually evolved into unnatural terror beyond anything imaginable.

The dark process of turning each of them into zorothos, goronthos, or ningothos had made them into powerful monsters but they weren't invincible. The twili and the sheikah were extraordinarily fast learners not to mention infinitely adaptable and in no time at all they each found their own tactics to get around the humbling power of these new monsters.

Despite all the commotion with these 'thos' creatures Link's mind was actually fixated on the Twilight Princess.

Page **5** of **5**


	19. Face to Face With Death

He was almost dumbstruck with joy at the sight of Midna. She had destroyed the only portal between their worlds to prevent any further invasion of twilight but in that act, she had also cut off any chance that they would ever see each other again. Link had come to love Midna in a way that he could have never believed was possible. The others, Navi, Tatl, and Kaepora Gaebora, were only a little helpful and they didn't care about him. They only wanted to save Hyrule, Termina, and the dream world of Koholint Island which faded into nothing in the end anyway. Midna was the first companion he had ever had that made him feel like less like a tool and more like a person. She had been unkind and rude at first due to the fact that her original intentions were purely selfish but as they had shared their epic adventure together through the woodlands of the Faron Woods, the volcanic shafts of Death Mountain and the deep dark depths of Lake Hylia they had begun to bond. By the time they had survived the scorching Gerudo Desert, the frigid slopes of Snow Peak Mt., the floating world of The City in the Sky, and finally the Twilight Realm itself, the Hero of Courage and the Princess of Twilight had become the closest of companions.

With a cry joy, vigor, and new found hope the original hylians, gorons, and zoras spread out and once again the basin was transformed into a mad house of intense battle. Even being unaffected by the death stare of the zorothos, goronthos, and ningothos, the sheikah and the twili were still hard pressed to avoid their incredibly fast and powerful attacks. It quickly became a wide known fact that the stare of zorothos could only affect zoras, the stare of goronthos to gorons, and so on and so forth. In an ironic twist of fate, the gorons and zoras were forced to fight powerful versions of their natural opposites and it forced all of them to fight at full strength and beyond, testing their skills to the maximum limit.

Navi darted around as fast as she could, healing and restoring life to all in need. Zelda wielded her rapier with excellent precision taking down many a stalfos and stalhound. Rutela let loose with countless beams of freezing magic stopping foes dead in their tracks and using her spear to shatter them. Darbus was literally ripping his opponents in half with sheer brutish strength roaring madly as he did so. King Bulblin was in an even more crazed state as he swung his huge ax with destructive power demolishing all who stood before him with savage fury. Midna ran numerous monsters through with her onyx black javelin. She also used powerful kicks from her long legs to stun her opponents. Impaz, despite her large stature, was frighteningly swift, often slaying her enemies before they could react.

Link had one thing and one thing only on his mind: Midna. With savage ferocity he fought to reach her. All who opposed him were brutally cut down. Not even the darknuts or dynalfos could halt his approach. But there was one thing he wasn't prepared for. A ningoth jumped out in front of him and before he could react, Link found himself looking deep into the dark monster's molten orange eyes.

He felt memorized. The bright orange eyes were enchanting. Almost… beautiful. Like watching the perfect sun set. Then he came back to himself and realized,

"Fear. I should be mad with terror right now."

For a whole ten seconds they stared at each other. Then the ningoth cock its head in confusion. Obviously his eyes had no effect on his newest would be victim. It was then that Link realized why he was immune from the monster's devastating stare.

Raising his left hand so the ningoth could see the back of it, he showed the monster the three glowing triangles with the bottom right one, the triforce of courage, glowing brighter than the other two. Immediately the creature recoiled and hissed loudly in disgust as it realized who Link was. It took a few hunching steps back and in this moment of opportunity, Link took a good look at the ningoth studying its structure and features.

Its skin was totally black as Impaz had said. The moonlight wouldn't even touch it; instead it bent around the creature creating a shimmering warped aura around the pure black beast. Thick red blood vessels, glowing with an unnatural dark crimson color, spider-webbed across its body. At about eight feet tall he hunched over on large flat palms bringing him down to six. The beast had long lanky arms but short back legs and walked on all fours with a shuffling gait. But it was the ningoth's face that stuck out the most. It was, in word, horrifying. Completely hairless, his bright molten eyes seemed to be alive with sick, twisted fantasies. With no nose or ears, his only other feature was his twisted smile. The wide creepy grin spread from one side of the monster's head to the other and it never changed. Even when it had hissed at Link, his perpetual smile hadn't wavered in the slightest. Two rows of perfectly white serrated teeth sat in stark contrast to the black interior of its mouth. A short thin tongue of the darkest purple appeared behind the jaggedly pointed rows of teeth.

"Heh. Heh, hee hee." The creature began to laugh quietly and slowly, but he sped up to a delirious giggle that felt like it was drilled directly into Link's mind and memories.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Its voice sounded strained, like it shouldn't be that high and the sound was maddening. Even with the triforce of courage greatly weakening the monster's power over his senses Link could still feel the effects of the creature's terror-striking ability. He knew he had to stop it before insanity set in.

"Hyaaaaa!" He charged the beast with a battle cry. Link slashed down diagonally but the ningoth sidestepped it and countered with a downward palm slam. Link swiftly jumped back and took a second to marvel the three foot wide crater where he had been just a moment ago created by the ningoth's incredible strength. Then the hero went for a strong offense swinging left but too slow, then right, diagonal, stab but the surprising agile creature avoided all of the attacks. Link jumped back again to avoid another attack, a wide horizontal swing with a club-like fist. Then something terrible happened. Though Link himself was in the clear, the Master Sword was still within the creature's range. Hitting the flat of the blade, the sword of evils bane was jerked from his grasp and in an ironic twist of fate, spun twice through the air and come to a stop in the chest of an aeralfos just as it was swooping in for an attack.

The dark beast's constant grin spread even wider, if that was possible, and it began to slowly advance. Lowering his head, Link stared at the ningoth.

"I don't have time for this." He said darkly.

Nothing was going to stand between him and Midna. Not the towering darknuts, the nimble yet powerful dynalfos, not the evasive aeralfos, and not the ningothos either. If he had to use _that_ power to reach the Twilight Princess, then by all means he would.

Reaching into his tunic pocket, he removed a small object wrapped in an old dirty white cloth. Holding it in one hand, he unwrapped it with the other to reveal a black stone with a rough marquise cut. With points on each side like an arrowhead and the few outlining orange swirls, the stone looked very tribal and dark, forbidden almost.

With cloth and stone in his right hand, he placed his left hand over them. Instantly his body shrunk and was dragged to the ground placing him on all fours. Faster than the eye could follow, fur sprouted from his skin, hands and feet became paws, lips became jowls, and his clothes turned black, dissolving into his body.

Where Link once stood was a magnificent wolf. His fur was predominantly very dark gray with cream colored streaks on both sides near his belly and outlining his flanks. His paws were a lighter gray as was the underside of his tail. Thick black fur on his head and around his neck created a black and dark brown semi-mane. His face was gray save for the black stripe of fur running down his snout and the white zigzag lines going below his ears and ending at the corners of his mouth. The blue earring was still present in his left ear and the triforce still glowed, no longer on his left hand but on his left paw. His bright blue eyes shone fiercely as he growled and prepared to leap at the dumbstruck ningoth.

The nameless stone was a physical manifestation of a dark curse that was placed on Link during his twilight adventure. After touching the master sword the curse had been broken leaving behind the stone. By touching it, Link would transformed into his wolf form giving him enhanced senses, higher stamina, and other such advantages of being a wolf. But it wasn't a win-win situation. Disadvantages include that his weapons and items became useless as he no longer had hands and he became lighter making it harder to hold his ground. But in the end he _was_ more powerful in this form. There was just one big catch. The voice. As the Hero of Twilight became a beast on the outside, the beast on the inside stirred far more than ever.

"You've became a beast again, haven't' you?" he chuckled in his low raspy way "I can always tell because your natural instincts become so much more feral and untamed. If you're that desperate why don't you just use some of my power? I have lots of it you know, more that you can ever begin to imagine."

Shut up! Link thought back. Just shut up!

"Ok, ok. Hee heh. But if ever you need me, you know where I am. Heh, heh, heh."

He became enraged by the appearance of the inner voice and how much he wanted the dark inviting power. Link hated how could not allow himself to have it and he was still die-hard determined to reach Midna. With all that fueling him, the wolf leapt at the ningoth who tried to swipe him out of the air with a back hand as he backed away but Link caught the arm in his mouth and bit down with everything he had. A sour taste like that of rotting flesh invaded Link's mouth before the monster shook him off violently. Link hit the ground and rolled a few feet but was able to immediately stand and ready himself for whatever came next. The ningoth pulled its wounded limb back shrieking in pain and disgust at being injured, all the time grinning its everlasting smile of madness. Seeing an opening, Link pounced once more, this time landing on the creature's upper chest. Snarling frightfully, he latched his jaws to his opponent's throat, shaking and jerking in a frenzy until with a sickening 'Cruuuuunch!' the throat came free. The ningoth fell backwards and hit the ground, Link still on his chest. When it had finished with its death throes, Link stood majestically on his fallen foe and howled to the bright shining moon in victory. Red faintly glowing blood dripped from his jowls and was splattered here and there in his gray and black fur. The other monsters around him, who had paused to watch the epic battle, back away in fear and awe at the sight of The Hero of Twilight in his wolf form.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh." the voice chuckled darkly. "Don't overdo it now."

But, for Link, this was no time to bask in glory. Darting to where the master sword lay, he began to approach it carefully. He flinched, closing his eyes for a moment. The master repelled _all_ evil so even though Link's mind and soul were pure, his body was cursed. Therefore the power of the master sword repelled Link like it would any other monster. The closer he got, the harder it became to advance. Just his fur began disintegrate and his insides shifted painfully, he placed his paw on the purple hilt. It instantly began morphing into a hand that, even before it had fully formed, grasped the handle of the sword of evil's bane and Link took off, ever fixed on his resolution to reach Midna.

After hacking mercilessly through another few foes, he was finally close enough to call out her name.

"Midna!"

With a swift horizontal kick with her long slender leg, Midna broke the neck of a dynalfos and turned to see who had called her name. Upon seeing Link's frantic stumbling gait as he approached, her hardened features could only soften. A gentle, welcoming smile spread across her face as she shook her head in amusement. Link was still such a child to her sometimes.

Just as he reached her, she turned away from him signaling for a back-to-back formation. Link understood and put his back to hers with a few inches to spare and spoke with a voice bubbling with excitement.

"Midna! I can't believe you're here! With us! Helping all of us with this battle! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

When she spoke, her voice was femininely high and had an artificial sound similar to the darknuts but to a much lesser extent.

"You're very welcome, Link." she answered calmly, almost motherly. "When, I was told of your plight, could not just ignore it in good conscience and so here we are."

"I'm so glad you came! I mean you especially. I've really missed you."

"…And I, you."

Link's mind was too overjoyed to hear the slight depression in her voice. She _was _happy to see him again she just didn't like seeing him like this. She knew that he was deeply in love with her. Well, that's what he thought. She thought of it more like infatuation and it was very unhealthy. He was the Hero of Twilight, The Holder of the Triforce of Courage, and a symbol of hope to the people in Hyrule and all the surrounding kingdoms. She, on the other hand, was the princess of the Twilight Realm and a symbol of darkness. She and her kind could not survive in the light of this world just as Link could not survive in the Twilight Realm for very long. He was a hylian and she was a twili and their time together was done. The logic of her politically orientated mind told her that the love Link felt for her could never be... but that's not what her heart said.

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	20. The Great Battle

Despite the mixed emotions at being reunited, Link and Midna were still conscious of the ongoing battle and had to put all their attention on it.

And what a battle it was! The moonlight and starlight unveiled a ferocious conflict of epic proportions in the Deku Basin. With the sides now evenly matched, and neither willing to give an ounce of quarter, the battle quickly became gory bloodbath with both sides taking heavy casualties. For hours it raged on. Link was at Midna's side the entire time and woe was unto any poor fool mad enough to get near him or his dearest friend. Zelda had teamed up with a band of hylian soldiers, combining her magic with their steel. Darbus and most of the other gorons went at it solo, tearing through several foes with wide devastating punches and tackle-like charges, inflicting massive damage and confusion upon the enemy. The zoras had paired up with each other balancing and using each other strengths to the fullest. Queen Rutela herself had commandeered a short sword from one of the aeralfos, due to the fact that her own elegant whale-bone spear had been shattered by a darknut. Still using beams of ice magic to freeze some of her foes, the queen of Zora's Domain proved a chilling adversary for even the darknuts whose armor shattered like glass under the intense cold. The ningothos goronthos on the other hand… Well, not only was the cold ineffective on them, but it seemed to energize them almost. Needless to say, she quickly learned to leave the black beasts to the others far more adapt to fighting them.

The twili and sheikah were one such example of 'others'. They were so in sync with one another that they randomly went from solo fighting to pairing or teaming up with each other. They traded weapons, many times, frequently and swiftly, often throwing them to one another to better equip themselves and each other for each particular type of foe. Both races were very athletic and adapt for weaponless combat. Devastating kicks, punches, and other such moves were commonly used even when they had a weapon. Evasive maneuvering and agile foot work were another one of the impressive displays put on by both the sheikah and the twili.

The sheikah had a unique system of identifying each other's various talents. Midnight blue was the primary color of their outfits but it was the color of their gloves and hand bandages that set them apart. Those with regular white bandages were normal blade masters. Red meant they were a medic and usually possessed magical healing abilities. Purple represented dark and offensive magic users. Those who wore gloves of a sickly dark yellow color were very uncommon. They specialized in primitive chemical warfare. Bottles of scorching acids, vials of toxic gasses and small poison tipped blades of various kinds hung from their belts. They were called the gekizai which meant 'violent poison' and they were feared as very powerful and unstoppable warriors. But they were still not the elite of the sheikah; it was the ones who wore black colored bandages that held that position.

There were even fewer of them than there were of the gekizai. Their specialty? Pressure points. Known as banshi, meaning 'certain death' or 'a thousand deaths',they attacked their opponent's body from within. With inhuman precision they forcefully jabbed pressure centers that caused the enemy to collapse, became paralyzed or dazed, experience excruciating pain or simply just drop dead. The banshi were commonly called death whisperers. They were the top assassins in the land and it was said that the Reaper himself was their mentor.

The Hero's Shade, despite his appearance, was a swift agile fighter as well. Not nearly as much so as the inhumanly flexible sheikah and to a lesser extent the twili but he still fought like a veteran. His strikes were swift, carefully planned, and always perfectly balanced between power and speed. The master swordsman had obviously done this for many centuries with his excellent footwork and elegant sword techniques. He blocked as many attacks as he could which was a great many. He may have been immortal but he could still be defeated by decapitation. In that case he would be sent to the afterlife never to return. Besides, there was no honor in defeating an opponent after already receiving a deadly blow from said foe.

He had only remained in the realm of the living because he had failed to pass his knowledge onto the next generation and so he waited countless centuries until the next hero was born and then he finally passed the seven hidden skills to Link earning him his place in a peaceful afterlife.

But for all their efforts, another great foe was about to make his appearance.

A series of screams and great discombobulation sprang up from the far side of the battle field and the monsters cheered for one of their greatest warriors. Hylians and zoras were thrown into the air by the force of his destructive weapon. Gorons were knocked down or sent stumbling back from it. His entire eight foot body was covered in thin elaborately decorated plate armor but underneath was thick heavy chainmail. The silver plate armor was further decorated with gold lining. Only the skin of his inner thighs and knees were visible through the armor but it wasn't skin, it was scales. His helmet was elongated to fit his reptilian head and was adorned with three long red feathers that sprouted from the top.

In his three fingered gauntlet-armored hands was his weapon of choice. He was the only one known to wield it and the weapon was feared for its long reach and destructive power. A long chain with a weighted ball at the end simply known as the ball and chain. The ball itself easily weighed over two hundred pounds and was probably closer to double or triple that and maybe more let alone the weight of the thick heavy chain as well. The silver chain was as plain as they come but the ball had pentagonal designs and gold lines running around it, crossing each other. More for décor than anything were four short stunted spikes on each hemisphere of the ball. His name rang out in the growing chaos as the monsters cheered for him.

Link suddenly remembered Darbus's warning about seeing a particular foe sulking about in the shadows of the battlefield. It seemed that the goron patriarch's eyes had not deceived him after all.

Dark-ham-mer! Dark-ham-mer! Dark-ham-mer!

He was... The Darkhammer.

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	21. Giant of Speed vs Giant of Power

Link rushed to confront him as did Darbus and several other warriors of all races but none could get close as he swung his heavy weapon round and round. A moment later, though, Impaz speed past Link, rolled forward underneath the ball and chain and rammed her large body into his knocking him off balance. Everyone present charged to overwhelm the downed juggernaut but the monsters around him came to his aid, stopping even Darbus and the twili in their tracks with ferocious retaliation.

Impaz found herself severely outnumbered and had begun to form a retreat plan when a deeply graveled voice called out.

"Sssstop!"

The monsters, even the looming darknuts, immediately stopped their assault on Impaz. Darkhammer rose to his feet.

"Thisss one'sss mine."

He had the same snake like voice of the lizalfos and dynalfos except that his was very deep, heavily graveled and somewhat raspy. One by one the monsters all sulked off to fight other foes for none would go against The Darkhammer's word.

Impaz looked at him with malice and said confidently

"You underestimate me, my friend. Or is it that you overestimate your own abilities?"

She posed in a defensive formation, ready for anything.

Darkhammer readied himself as well saying with deep throated chuckle.

"It'sss been a long time sssinccce I fought a sheikah. And the lassst one I fought ended badly for me. Time for a little payback."

He swung the heavy ball up and around his head before casting in her direction. She rolled to the left to avoid it, and began to sprint at her opponent while he was venerable. With a backwards jerk of his arm he yanked the chain back to him. Impaz dropped flat to the ground as the ball 'whooshed' over her head from behind, returning to its master.

With difficulty, Impaz rose to her feet. Link could tell that even the great sheikah leader was not without limit. Like many others, he fought fiercely to come to her aid but there were still too many enemies holding them back. Darkhammer's presence was having the same effect on the monsters as the sheikah's and twili's did on them. The monsters fought with renewed hope and determination.

Impaz and Darkhammer exchanged a few blows testing each other's strength and skill. Impaz could never get in a good position to land a decent attack and she was too fast for Darkhammer's heavy weapon.

Impaz, realizing just how very alone she was for this battle, stepped back, sighed and said,

"This would be fun and all, just me and you but I don't have time for you monsters any more so I'll have to stop toying around and kill you quickly."

"You forget who'sss toying with who." Darkhammer growled back but then he let the comment go and relaxed.

"Look," he said casually throwing the length of chain of his shoulder.

The heavy ball rested on the ground next to his boot covered feet.

"I'm not here for you. Where'sss your companion, Impton?"

Impaz froze in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she stared, slack-jawed.

"H-how do you know him?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Heh, heh, heh. Ssso you ssstill haven't figured it out? Allow me to remove my helmet. Not that it'll do much good."

He unclipped his headgear and let it clatter to the trampled, blood stained grass, revealing a chainmail mask with round eye holes. His right eye was obviously reptilian as it was dark yellow and had a slit pupil. His left eye, or more accurately, the space where his left eye should have been was simply vacant. Gripping the mask by top he pulled it off to reveal his face.

It could hardly be called a face. He was obviously a large dynalfos or very large lizalfos of some kind but his face was so mutilated it was no longer recognizable. Several deep jagged scars crisscrossed his it with most of them originating from his left eye socket. The socket itself was almost none existent. Much of the flesh in that area was gone creating a small concave dome on the left side of his face. The brown/gray discolored skin had grown over it covering even the socket itself. Most of the scales on that side his face were gone. The few that were there had lost their dull brown iridescent sheen for a sickly yellow and green mix.

Impaz flinched at the sight. Her memory of the darknut's face flashed back to her for a moment.

"Wha-"

"You ssstill don't know? Maybe thisss will help. "

His voice took on a higher insulting tone as he mocked the words he spoke.

"Niccce move by the way. That lizzzalfosss won't be ssseeing with that eye anymore."

By the end of the last sentence he was spitting the quote with spite.

"What about that? Do you remember that, Impazzz?"

"Are you-?" she said in jaw-dropping shock

"Come on. You can do it. Remember me."

"Dirkon? No, Dreeko. No, no. …Dryko! Yes, that was it!"

The lizalfos smirked in satisfaction.

Then she remembered. The scout from all the years ago had told them that there was one survivor of Impton's wrath. She never thought twice about it. Someone who had gotten lucky, she had supposed at the time. The teenage Impaz could have never guessed that sole survivor would be Dryko. Let alone that he was the Darkhammer.

"I _was _Dryko, but that was a long time ago. Now, as you already know, I'm called Darkhammer. You can thank Impton for my good looks."

"Wha-? Impton didn't do that to your face. He only-"

"It got infected." he spat.

"And you survived? …Great Din of Fire."

"Now tell me. Where isss that worthlesss companion of yoursss? It'sss time for sssome payback."

That caused her to snap. She ran at him roaring furiously,

"HE'S DEAD, YOU BASTERD!"

She brought both her swords above her head and used her entire upper body as her swung them down in her most powerful strike yet. But Darkhammer held chain taunt in front of him and blocked the attack with it. The enraged sheikah's swords flashed as they hit the indestructible chain of Darkhammer's weapon. With a grunt of effort, he swung the ball up and around it at her. Impaz dodged it with a back flip.

Looking up, she screeched,

"You monsters drove him insane!"

Tears were pouring from her eyes. A twisted look of pain and sorrow contorted her face almost beyond recognition. The bandage around her chin had come loose and the wound was bleeding again. Her long wild hair no longer even resembled its previous ponytail.

Darkhammer rolled his single eye and said causally,

"Oh and while we're on the sssubject, I wasss the one who chunked that ssspear and killed poor little Fern"

Impaz froze in a heart wrenching mix of sorrow, shock, and rising anger. Whatever amount of hope, rage, or sorrow she had felt was immediately extinguished. Her red eyes lost their fire; her swords fell from her hands and splashed in the red mud around her. Her trembling lips parted as her jaw slowly fell. The sheikah leader's proud muscular shoulders slumped as she fell to her knees and stared the trampled grass and mud. Impaz's breaths came slow, heavy, and struggled. Her eyes were beginning to burn with tears.

Darkhammer chucked at the sight.

"That's right. I'm the murderer of both your best friends and you're powerless to do anything about it. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Her mind flashed back to Impton's smiling face, his determination in battle and finally the crazed look of madness that had eventually consumed him in the end. And then Fern's silly antics. Her innocent clumsiness and ignorance. She had been in love with Impton. Impaz had always known that and felt more protective of him because of it. Not that they weren't a good couple or that she wanted Impton for herself. She just didn't want to lose him to Fern's happy-go-lucky attitude. Her stern, serious nature tended to push people away but not Impton. He had always been eager to be by her side. The spear that had come through Fern's chest from behind... And then the look of terror and pain on her face just before she died…

The emptiness in Impaz's heart began to fill with heavy heartbroken sadness. It threatened to pull her down to the ground and keep her there until she died and for a moment she felt herself giving in but then the sadness began to change, to morph into something different. It was like that stagnant pool of despair had begun heat up. And as it heated, it began to evaporate into a wild hot steam. The hotter it got, the lighter she felt until there was a great burning fire in her heart.

It was then that Impaz knew what she had to do. She couldn't do this alone after all. She was going help and she knew just the pair for the job. She had only used them twice before and the last time was over a decade and a half ago.

Looking up to the moon and starlit sky she screamed through her heavy tears and heartache. "Rosso! Dycete! Please! Come to me!"

After a long moment, there was a frigid gust of wind that carried the scent of roses in its wake and Impaz knew they had heard her.

Page **5** of **5**


	22. The Wrath of Impaz

Impaz stood, her face still twisted with pain and agony, and crossed her swords in front of her. Despite the look on her face her voice was steady and deeply powerful.

"Roses are red, winter is blue, but these roses and ice shall be the death of you!"

Bsssssshhhhiiiiinnnnngggg!

The hilts of both swords began to glow, the left one faded to dark blue while the right turned a dark shade of crimson. A shady opaque series of blue crystals began to grow from the hilt of the left one climbing the blade till they reached the point creating a menacing looking weapon with dense ice shards for a blade. A white and ever so slightly blue mist fell from the freezing blade and it glowed with a blue aura.

At the same time, the right katana had pair of green vines sprouting from its own hilt slowly spiral around the blade's length, crisscrossing each other as they did so. The thorns on the vine were black with red tips. The blade itself turned a deep shade of pink and gained a golden sheen as the vines crawled around it. Ghostly transparent rose petals began to drift down from the blade, turning a glittering gold color as they faded into nothing before they hit the ground.

When their transformation was done, Impaz was left standing tall with her head bowed and her eyes low. In her left hand was a blue sword of ice with mist flowing from it and in her right a pink sword of roses with petals of said flower appearing and fading as they fell around it. Both blades glowed in the silver light and once again the moon deepened the shadows in the sheikah warrior's face giving her a very dark look.

"Impresssive. Very impresssive." Darkhammer said trying to bow as best as he could in his armor. "I commend your ssstyle."

"Do you?" Impaz screamed shaking with hate. "This is Rosso, Mother of the Sweet Death!" she yelled maliciously holding up her right katana. "And this is Dycete, Father of the Crimson Frost!"

"They make quite a pair, don't they?

"More than you think! HAAAAA!"

She charged him holding her swords down and to her right. They left a streak of red and dark blue in their wake. She curved her path, coming at him from a slight angle. He waited for her, confident in his defensive capabilities. The agile ninja jumped the last few feet bringing her magic swords up and slamming them at Darkhammer from above but he held the chain out taunt over his head stopping Rosso and Dycete dead without so much as a flinch from himself. Pushing up, he knocked them away throwing Impaz off balance and immediately followed up with a solid kick that sent Impaz stumbling back, winded.

"Isss that really all you can do?" Darkhammer laughed "Isss thisss really the pinnacle of your power?"

Recovering her balance, the sheikah leader jumped back to gain some distance between the two of them.

"No." She said with dark rage. "It isn't."

She waved Rosso through the air, leaving a cloud of pink rose petals hovering in the air in front of her. They quickly faded to a deep red and then she waved Dycete through the cloud, turning the petals into blue razor-edged ice coated projectiles.

"Turn his blood to ice." she said with malice.

With an echoing 'Clang!' the emotion torn sheikah clashed her swords together which exploded with sparks and a brief sound of grinding metal. The ice petals flew at Darkhammer in a crazy, yet elegantly flowing pattern leaving faint blue trails as their went.

Darkhammer, still swinging his weapon around his head, focus his concentration and with unbelievable timing swung the ball in front of his face just before the blue ice bladed petals sliced it to ribbons, causing them to shatter harmlessly against the heavy metal. The rest of the petals fragmented harmlessly off his armor save for the few that embedded themselves in the scales of his kneecaps but he didn't even notice them.

"You can't hurt me. After what I've been through" His deep voice dropped to a whisper "no one can defeat me." Darkhammer said the last part more to himself than to Impaz.

"We'll see about that!" Impaz yelled.

She ran at him again, roaring as she charged. He hurled the ball at her but with sidestepping twirl, she dodged it and kept coming without missing a beat. With a twist of Rosso, the vines on it suddenly grew past the point of the sword doubling their length. Impaz dug the sword into the ground and pole vaulted over Darkhammer's head intending to cleave his skull with Dycete as she went but he ducked slightly and instead, the icy sword, even with the icicle spikes extending its reach, only delivered a minor cut.

Rosso's thorny green vines retracted to their normal length before she touched the ground behind him and when she did, Impaz immediately swung Dycete around to strike him in the back but he turned whipping the ball and chain around as he did and Impaz was forced to bring both swords up to block it.

BASH!

She screamed in pain as the heavy ball went right through her swords and slammed her in the chest sending her flying and then rolling several feet through hordes of monsters but before anyone could interfere, Darkhammer chunked the ball at her. She rolled out of the way just in time as the balled buried itself deep into the ground where she had been laying only a split second ago.

Slowly rising to her feet, Impaz realized that she was spent. She was good for one last attack and then that was it, she was done for. Darkhammer began swinging his weapon around his head again ready to attack or defend. She formed a plan. His defense was strong and his offense even stronger but she knew that this could work. It had to.

For the last time, for better or worse, the determined, highly skilled sheikah charged her large, powerful reptilian foe. She prepared herself for another leap over his head.

Not thisss again. Darkhammer thought.

The rose vines began to lengthen and she bent her legs.

"What'sss the matter, sheikah? Run out of tricksss already?"

Darkhammer swung his ball and chain faster, planning to knock her out of the air this time. Their eyes met for a second. Impaz's were full of fearless determination, hate, and pain. Darkhammer's single right eye was mocking, daring her to give it her all. And in that brief moment, the sheikah leader knew that she had won this fight.

She jumped. Darkhammer was ready for it. His mistake was being ready for something other than what happened next. Impaz jumped, but instead of jumping up, she jumped forward, landing on her knees, bending painfully backwards almost to the ground and using her great momentum combined with the blood slicked grass to slide underneath her opponent. Holding both swords back behind her head she past between his legs. She did nothing as she slid beneath him and it seemed as if she had thrown away her moment of opportunity but just as Rosso's and Dycete's points reached Darkhammer's knees, her dark thorny green vines and his blue opaque ice crystals shot out and tightly wrapped themselves around the unarmored joints. With a fierce jerk from their master, the sharp black thorns and the razor bladed icicles sawed through flesh and bone alike amputating both Darkhammer's calves.

A primitive guttural roar of pain and anguish escaped his throat as he fell to the ground, splashing in the blood with a heavy thud. He rolled back and forth frantically in agony while Impaz slowly approached him like the grim reaper himself.

She planted her foot on his chest pinning him down. Slowly raising her swords, the bloodstained, bruised and exhausted sheikah leader spoke her final words to the mighty opponent.

"This is for Impton."

And with that she brought both blades down with vengeance.

Darkhammer, in the moment before his death, had his memory flash before his eyes. It was not his entire life's story that he saw but the most important part of it. The event that had been his strength, his weakness, and eventually his demise.

Page **4** of **4**


	23. His Story

His eye burned so badly he hadn't been able to sleep that night. Needless to say, it had put him in a foul mood the morning. But he was still a teenager by their standards; an orphan too, so nobody cared that he was in pain and upset. He would live; that's all that mattered to them. The small lizalfos camp was just waking up. The few warriors who had returned from the failed night raid were sound asleep. The sun had been up for about an hour but the fading clouds of last night's heavy rains blurred the yellow-orange light.

Dryko left his tent to get more bandages for his eye. His current ones had been soaked through with blood. But before he got very far, an older lizalfos tapped him on the shoulder and asked in complete bewilderment,

"Do you see that?"

They spoke in their own bird-like language of chirps and clacks. Dryko followed his pointing finger to the distance. Through the morning mist, extra thick due to the heavy rains of last night, there was a figured approaching their camp.

"What the-?"

Slowly more and more of the members of the camp stopped what they were doing to see what was going on.

The stranger walked steadily, with unstoppable determination. As he neared them, it became apparent that he was heavily armed. Two katanas rested in his hands, four smaller ones around his thighs, a pair for each. A couple of short spears crossed his back. In the bandages around each of his ankles were five small daggers. A bow rested over his shoulder with a quiver of arrows under the spears. A pair of straps with various kinds shuriken crossed his chest. Throwing knives, small hatchets, and other small bladed weapons covered his body from head to toe.

Underneath this extraordinarily amount of weaponry was a long sleeve jumpsuit with fingerless gloves sown in as part of the garment. The knuckles of the gloved ends had been ripped by the spiked knuckles being worn beneath them. The shirt part was blue with a white chest. A red sheikah eye was barely visible through the straps of throwing stars. The lower half was a matching blue that, like the gloves on the shirt, had socks sown into the bottoms but this could not be seen with the white bandages wrapped tightly around his feet, ankles and up to his mid-calves. A long blue bandana, tied around his knotted brow, waved lazily in the calm morning breeze. His blazing red eyes were full of a cold calculating calmness. His mouth was hardened into an unbreakable scowl. His spiky blond hair was too short to be moved by the light wind except for the smallest of ripples caused by the occasional stronger gusts. He was young sheikah, no older than Dryko and yet he looked aged. Deep furrows were etched in the lines of his face and his eyes spoke of the experience of a thousand life times.

By the time he reached the waiting spectators, every lizalfos in the camp had gathered to see the unusual sight. He stopped and stood in from of them, silent for a few long moments as the morning mists continued their dance around the stranger and lizalfos unconcerned with the on goings between the two.

The stranger stared relentlessly at them and then said in deep, steady voice.

"My name… is Impton. I am here to kill you. All of you."

They began to whisper worriedly among themselves.

"I will give you a few moments to arm yourselves. You will need everything you've got."

One of the larger, older lizalfos stepped forward and laughed,

"And then what? You are going to attack? Ha! Ha!"

The contagious laugh spread through the crowd and they relaxed with the comforting thought that one sheikah was nothing against an entire lizalfos clan.

"None of you will survive." His voice was still steady and eerily calm.

This statement only incited more snarling laughter.

"Are you ready, then?" He asked them.

Speaking between laughs, the older lizalfos said,

"Look, little sheikah, go home to your parentsss or _we_ will kill _you_."

"So you are not going to arm yourselves?"

The lizalfos snarled, "My patienccce with you is running thin, boy. Now leave before I get nasssty."

"I tried to warn you, but you only mocked my words. So be it."

He readied his swords but that was the least of his change. A sly wicked toothy smile spread across his face. His already blazing red eyes flared even brighter. His body began to tremble and shake with madness. His voice was high and very strained as he whispered,

"Time to die."

Impton spun around decapitating the lizalfos who had spoken with him. Widespread panic ensued with the civilians fleeing in terror and the soldiers rushing to defend their camp. Impton's crazed laughter was heard by every man, woman, and child in the area, as he began to brutally slaughtered the humanoid lizards.

Dryko was running like his life depended on it. Of course, in this case, it did. The young lizalfos hadn't recognized him at first due to fatigue from a sleepless night and his injury blurring the vision of his single eye and but there was no mistaking that insane laughter. Dryko had heard it last night after he had killed Fern and he had seen what happened next. There was no way he was going to stay here for that.

Dryko rushed into his tent and while surrounded by the screams of his soon-to-be butchered clan, haphazardly packed all he could for a long journey. He cut a hole in the back of his tent and slipped out unnoticed. He looked back only once. What he saw, he would not, could not ever forget.

Several of their homes had been destroyed. Some were burning. A female scream rang out but was cut short by the savage beast that had once been Impton. A baby's cry followed immediately after but that too, was soon cut short. Dryko could see them pushing Impton back now. He was against the notice pole. It was a wide wooden pole set in the ground in the center of the camp and was used to post advertisements, public notices, and other such messages.

The thing that had been Impton no longer resembled anything human. He was drenched in blood and covered in wounds. One of his own spears had been used against him and the broken handle could be seen sticking out his side. His clothes were ripped to rags. And all the while, that deranged smile of his never left his face nor did his insane laughter ever cease.

Dryko stared, watching the people he had been raised by being slaughtered by this monster. And suddenly he realized... he couldn't leave. There was something he had to do and this was the time to do it.

Dropping everything but his short sword, the young lizalfos ran for the camp. He put all his passion into it. He had to if this was going to work. He was terrified down to the core. This would probably get him killed but he felt this was him moment to shine. He had to do this. For his people.

He reached the camp and headed straight for Impton. With a hop-skip he leaped onto the heads of the lizalfos currently swarming the mad sheikah en masse. He jumped high into the air screaming as he did and came down with unholy fury upon Impton. His blade made contact at the top of Impton's brow and traveled through his face and continued across his chest, ending above his hip.

Everyone backed off and for a moment, Dryko felt overwhelming pride. He had defeated the great beast. He, the lowly orphan of the camp had just saved everyone! But he couldn't have been more wrong. A low chuckle came forth from the monster and then he spoke in a voice that sounded like a demon's .

"Yyyyuuussss. Pain is my friend. More. More! MORE!"

The look he gave them almost killed Dryko with terror. The skin on his face was hanging down exposing the muscle tissue underneath. Blood gushed across his mangled face in quick short pulses as his heart continued to beat.

Dryko ran. He was scared to the point of insanity. No one should have survived a wound like that. Not even a sheikah. He had been so sure of his plan. He was going to be the hero of the clan. The one who had stopped that demonic beast of a sheikah. But now...

Even though he never looked back, Dryko could still hear Impton's delirious screaming.

"Come on! More! Is that all you've got? Give me pain! I want it all! All the pain in the world! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

And that was the last Dryko saw of Impton. The young lizalfos traveled to the closest lizalfos camp that he knew of and told them his story. They didn't believe him until the scout returned and confirmed it, obviously shaken by what he had seen. He told them of a pair of sheikah that he had met while there but Dryko didn't care and left before hearing any more of it.

The healers did what they could for Dryko's eye but by the end of the month there was no denying that infection had set in. He was in constant agonizing pain. They told him the easiest way out of a long and painful death later was a short and painless one now.

But to be defeated now! After all he had been through to get this far. It just didn't seem fair. He racked his brain for a solution but could never find a way out. That was until he made an observation. The healer's often used cold rags to bring down his fever. What if cold was the answer? He asked them about it. What if he went to Snowpeak? The mountain that never thaws, whose temperatures are so cold that very few creatures live there and many of the ones that do are part ice.

But the healers and elders of the camp only shook their heads. Lizalfos were semi-cold blooded. They could easily take heat and they could handle temperate climates. They could tough out short minor cold spells but other than that, the cold made places such as Snowpeak inhospitable to them.

But Dryko would not be denied his single slim shot for life. So he set off, barely alive, to Snowpeak Mountain. The journey took him several days and the only thing that kept him going was the thought that he had to get his revenge on Impton. Dryko was sure that deranged sheikah was still alive. As far as he was concerned, nothing could kill that crazed monster.

He had to pass through Zora's Domain to reach his destination. They almost killed him on sight when he got there but by the time he had gotten that far, the infection had spread across his face. Once they got a good look at him the zoras let him be. He wasn't there to bother them and they didn't want anything to do with such a deformed creature.

And then he reached the base of the snowy mountain. For the first time several days he felt a glimmer of hope. But even though he had made it so far, the worst was yet to come. White wolfos, ice keese, freezards, and other such creatures inhabited these harsh slopes. His vision was already almost completely gone. That combined with the constant snowstorms forced him to rely solely on his ears.

He fought his way fiercely to the top. His short sword, small shield and the double bladed ax attached to his tail were his only weapons. He ate the corpses of his fallen enemies for nourishment and drank their blood to quench his thirst. The light weight fur coats of the wolf-like white wolfos proved to be very effective as a winter coat and he saved one of their skulls as a helmet. When the cold threatened to consume his body he would stop and light a fire using wood from the trees that could occasionally be found scattered here and there. When wood was scarce he burned the carcasses of his foes. At night he found shelter in the small caves that pocketed the slopes of Snowpeak.

Slowly but surely, he climbed his way to the summit. The journey took weeks. Near the top, he was forced to enter the caves in order to continue. He soon re-emerged into the harsh winter land again but this time he only walked for a minute or two before suddenly there was no more ground to walk on. He was confused at first. Never had the ground just given away to nothingness before. It always just went up and up. And then he realized... he had made it. This was the summit of Snowpeak Mountain. He roared his victory to the snowy white skies above as the usual snowstorm blew around him.

By this time he had grown much larger as his body gained muscle and tried to adapt to the harsh unforgiving cold. His scaly body was covered in scars and his tail was gone. It had been cut off by a chillfos and had healed as a thick, bluntly pointed stump.

Dryko now wore a full form outfit of white wolfos fur complete with a long flowing cape and the large skull of one of the alpha-males he had slain. His short sword sat sheathed in his belt and his small shield, now faded, dented and worn was still strapped to his arms. In his hands was a spear-like icicle used by chillfos who were masters of the weapon. His face, hidden somewhat by the wolfos skull, was just beginning to heal. Unlike Dryko, the infection had died against the harsh unforgiving cold. But then again, Dryko _was_ dead in a sense, for it was not he who had survived the harsh trek up the snowstorm-battered slopes of Snowpeak just as it was not Dryko that stood upon the summit in victorious pride. He had become... The Darkhammer.

He traveled a little farther to his right and found a huge abandoned mansion. He explored his way deep into the house, finding it stocked with and army's worth of weaponry. And then he found them. A suit of armor that fit like it was made for him and the ball and chain. From there, he trained himself and waited for the right time to get his revenge but his mind was beginning to slip into madness itself due to all he had been through. Living such a brutal existence had made _him_ brutal as well and rationality was losing its place in his conscience. Several years later he was prepared and was only waiting for when he felt the time was right to leave.

But then _he _showed up. The hylian in the green tunic who was destined to be the Hero of Twilight. At the time Darkhammer had no idea of this and dismissed the boy as a lost traveler. That boy defeated him and Darkhammer believed his dream of revenge would never happen.

But he was brought back and promised a second chance if he helped win a war. He took it without hesitation... for now he had two people to enact revenge on.

Darkhammer had no particular interest in this battle. He was only there to find Impton or someone who could lead him to that sheikah. Seeing Impaz and immediately recognizing her by her large figure and her pair of giant katanas, he had hoped to gain information of Impton's whereabouts, even if he had to beat an answer out of her, but instead he had been defeated. And now he was going to die permanently this time.

Page **6** of **6**


	24. A Villain's Comeback

The blades made sickening crunching sound as her blades went through his skull. Immediately, green vines sprouted from the wound and quickly covered his body. The thorny green tendrils rapidly chilled and turned crystal blue crackling as they did. In just a few seconds Darkhammer's corpse was densely covered with frozen rose vines that glittered beautifully in the silver moonlight. Then, Impaz jerked her swords free causing the icy creation to explode into thousands of tiny shards.

Breathing heavily, she dragged her broken, exhausted body to Zelda, wearily fighting off all those who attacked her. She had begun to stumble. Walking would soon be impossible. Her vision was heavily blurred, and her mouth was dryer than the Gerudo Desert.

The Princess of Hyrule saw her coming and worked her way to the used up sheikah. When they were side by side Impaz tried to speak

"Z-Zelda…" She heaved. "Zelda… I need you… to…"

She collapsed before she could finish so Zelda scooped her up in one arm and teleported back to the camp.

"What? What, Impaz? Tell me!"

Her breaths were dangerously shallow and short; she was on the brink of hyperventilating.

"A bed… Need… rest."

In normal circumstances Zelda would have laughed at the idea of her taking care of the large woman in her arms but this was no laughing matter. Impaz had pushed her body past its physical limitations and it very possible that she might not live to see tomorrow. Zelda transported them to her and Link's tent and with great difficulty, placed her unconscious form across both her and Link's makeshift beds of a few thick blankets each.

"Get some rest, Impaz. You've done your part." She said.

Shaking her head with worry, Zelda returned to the battle in a twirl of sparkles.

The fighting carried on for the rest of the night and before anyone knew it, dawn had arrived. The rising sun unveiled the grisly scene laid out in front of it. Only a few days ago, the Deku basin was filled with lush green grasses swaying in the occasionally gentle breeze. But now the grass was trampled into the ground, no longer distinguishable from the thick mud. Warm blood flowed in thick rivulets, soaking into the ground, turning it into rust-colored slosh. The dead littered the ground like sprawled trees after deforestation. Carrion birds circled overhead, waiting their turn to walk amongst the dead.

And the battle itself? Link and his companions had clearly won. All that was left was to finish off the rest of monsters. Even the horrifying ningothos were overwhelmed by the multiple twili that swarmed them. Soon, they would begin to gather the corpses and burn them. There were so many that it would take several large bonfires to complete the task.

Unknown to them was that they were being watched. He had watched them from the moment they had crested over the rise of the basin, opposite of where he stood. He was a large man with pointed ears and sharp yet broad features. His rough razor-cut hair, tied back into a short spiky ponytail, was a deep dark shade of crimson red. His skin was dark gray and in certain lighting, it almost seemed to be a dull blue. He wore a short trimmed beard, as red as his hair, that lined his jawbone and eyebrows long enough to curl up and back then connect with his hair.

A large black chest plate of armor covered his upper body. There was a vertical scar in the center of it, where it had obviously been repaired. A thick collar piece came up and around his neck. Overlapping plates covered his shoulders and forearms giving way to fingerless gauntlets that showed off his coal black fingernails. His leggings consisted of thick black trousers tucked inside a pair of black metal boots. All of it was intricately decorated with swirling gold lines, red and yellow jewels, and bits of dark tan cloth attached here and there for added décor.

Even with the armor, it was obvious that he was very muscular. His thick arms were crossed, his legs shoulder length apart, and his head bent low watching the battlefield as his black cape gently fluttered to his left. His angular face showed no emotion as his piecing yellow eyes scanned the battle-scarred basin. Behind him, a black coated, red eyed stallion, as muscular as his master, waited patiently.

He was The Dark Lord, Ganondorf Dragmire, holder of the triforce of power. Born as The Prince of Thieves, he invaded Hyrule from a land known as the Gerudo Valley in hopes of conquering the great nation and establishing dominion over it. At the time, he was known as the Demon Thief and was renowned for his ruthlessness. But in all his fury and might he was blind to any danger and thus he was subdued, conquered, and brought to justice. His sentence… death. The deed was to be carried out in front of the Mirror of Twilight atop the Arbiter's Grounds, a prison built in the middle of the Gerudo Desert to house the most ruthless, blood-thirsty, and powerful criminals in the land. The only guards for such a place were the seven sacred sages. As immortal spirits, their judgment was final and no one escaped due to their watchful eye let alone the thousands of traps and maze-like layout of the giant building.

Ganondorf's execution was to be done by the Sage of Water with the Sword of the Sages, a brilliant pearly white sword made of unknown glowing material. The sword was driven through his chest almost to the hilt and with an escaping gasp he had supposedly died. Yet… after a few moments his left hand twitched and on the back of appeared the gold mark of the Goddesses, the triforce. The top triangle, the one of power, glowed brightest. After a short dark guttural laugh, he clenched both fists and opened his eyes. Then, jerking himself up, he began pulling on the heavy chains and shackles that bound him to the stone wall. With a grunt of effort the first one broke, then the second. Instantly, before any of the sages could react he slid, as if on air, at the Water Sage and killed him with choke hold causing the sage's ghost-like form to burst into bright white particles that instantly began to drift upward and dissolved. The other sages, knowing who he was and what he had become, cowered before him. As they backed away, Ganondorf looked around with rekindled fire in his eyes and a grin that spoke of the countless evil schemes going through his power drunk mind. Grasping the hilt of the Sword of the Sages, still embedded through his chest, he laughed and pulled it out and began eyeing each terrified sage with murderous intent.

Realizing that they had no choice, the sages opened the Mirror of Twilight, which sucked in Ganondorf and the Sword of the Sages and deposited them in the Twilight Realm where he made Zant his puppet and, shortly after, began the Twilight Invasion.

With the sun rising behind him, creating a silhouette of The Dark Lord and his black, red eyed steed, standing like a statue behind his master, Ganondorf continued to stare, ill-contented at the out-come of the battle. It was hopelessly lost. He never liked the plan in the first place. He knew Link and Zelda. No matter what, they always seemed to have another trick up their sleeve. That was why he had never tried a full scale war before. Those two could only be defeated by outsmarting them. But the other one… the one who saved him from the eternal abyss of death, he was so sure this would have worked. But he was wrong.

For someone so similar to Link, thought The Dark Lord, he thinks nothing like him.

His prominent features set, Ganondorf let his arms drop and began to walk slowly to the rim of the basin. In just two large, heavy steps he reached it and without breaking pace took another step right off the edge. With a short quiet 'buzz' he burst into a cloud of dense purple mist that condensed and began to shoot downward from the bottom up as if being sucked down by an invisible straw. Upon reaching the bottom, the smoke reassembled, feet first, into Ganondorf, who, with a darkened look of evil, began to make his way through the post-battle basin.

He was like a ghost in the dying chaos. Plenty of fighting was still going on but even though he walked right past them neither good nor evil could detect his presence. Those in his path subconsciously moved out of it. With his cape fluttering behind him, The Dark Lord strode slowly but with purpose. His heavy set brow darkened his eyes further as he approached his target. The battle may have been lost but he did not intend to leave empty handed and he knew just the prize he wanted. Closer and closer still he neared and yet she did not sense him. Not until he was right on top of her as she finished off a stalfos did Princess Zelda become aware of his overwhelming presence looming behind her. Instinctively she whipped her blade around but he easily blocked it with the back of his arm. Looking up, her eyes widened with fear and consternation.

"No way…you?" she said quietly.

He only smiled wickedly in response, letting a low chuckle escape his lips.

"Link! Everyone! He's back! Ganondorf's here!"

"Scream all you want, princess. They can't hear you. They can't even think about you, right now." He told her with a smirk.

It was as he said. Despite Link being only some few meters away he continued as he was, engaged with a darknut with Midna at his side.

Realizing how serious the situation was, the princess ran at him, swinging vigorously, relying on her speed to out match his power but he blocked every attack with his arms, legs, or simply leaned and sidestepped out of the blade's path.. And then, out of nowhere, he kicked her roughly in the chest sending her stumbling backward and almost off her feet but she regained her balance and ran at him screaming in rage. He did nothing to protect himself; he only crossed his arms and waited for her with a smirk. Zelda swung from her right with everything she had but just as the sword reached his neck, he exploded into the thick sparkling purple mist and her rapier went right throw him. Once the blade was clear of the mist, it imploded back into Ganondorf who began to advance toward her. Taking a step back, Zelda swung again, with the same result. Walking backward, she swung left, right, up, and down, until her attacks became a frenzy of increasingly wild swipes and thrusts. He waited until she had tired herself out which didn't take long due to her energy already having been spent on the battlefield.

She swung, knowing it was hopeless but too exhausted to use any magic or think of another solution but this time Ganondorf did not revert to his solid form but instead the mist moved forward and enveloped her. With a gasp, Zelda's eyes rolled backward and she collapsed. Before her body could hit the ground, Ganondorf reformed on bended knee and caught her in what could have almost been call a romantic manner.

He carried her gently in his arms, staring past everything into the distance with a blank, unreadable expression on his face. With a short buzz he and Zelda burst into his swirling purple mist form that weaved its way back up to the edge of the battle field where he had stood before watching the great battle.

His army had come from the west, while Zelda's and the others' had come from the east. The eastern and northern slopes of the basin were much more gentle that the very steep western and southern drop-offs. With a sharp whistle he beckoned his dark red-eyed stallion to him. He placed the limp princess back to back against him on the saddle and tied her torso to his to ensure she would not fall off.

He was ready.

Page **5** of **5**


	25. I Will Save Her!

Link was full of more energy than he knew what to do with. Being next to Midna made him feel unstoppable. She was his reason for living at the moment and anything that dared stand up to him was mercilessly cut down. The voice evil voice inside him was awake and though he was didn't realize it, Link allowed small amounts of his power to seep into his boiling blood and fill his veins. Link's voice had dropped to low snarls and growls with feral yells and screams. His skin had darkened noticeable and his eyes seemed less blue and closer to a blue-ish purple. His fierceness attracted many of the challenge seeking monsters but none could even begin to keep up with him. Even the ningothos dropped like flies to the master sword.

Suddenly Midna screamed.

"Link! Turn around! Look!"

He whipped around ready to take out yet other foe but instead he found Midna pointing up to the rim of the basin.

"Up there!"

His eyes followed the direction of her slender finger to where Ganondorf had taken Zelda. The Dark Lord was clearly visible against the fiery orange rising sun as he reared backward on his horse. He held out his hand and made a 'Come on' gesture with his fingers, daring Link to chase after him.

Link's savage mindset immediately softened into heartfelt distress at the sight of Zelda defeated and captured and even more so when he laid eyes on her captor.

It couldn't be. Not... him. Ganondorf... was back. The goddess's warning came back to him now and he knew what he was seeing could not be false. Link's heart dropped like a stone in water. Why though? First Armogohma and Argorok, then Darkhammer, And now Ganondorf too? He wasn't going to be able to take much more of this.

"No…" he whispered shaking his head. His eyes began to water and his fists shake with compassion.

"No." he said more loudly and angrily. His breathing was getting heavier and he was beginning to tremble with rage.

"Link, no." Midna said firmly trying to get through to him. "He's just baiting you. Don't fall for it. There's nothing we can do for her, right now."

But The Hero of Twilight had already called Epona with the horse call, a flute shaped like a horseshoe. Link began running up the hill and Epona rushed and met him from his right. Without missing a beat, he jumped on top of her and spurred the brown, white-maned horse to her fullest.

"LINK! Don't do this! Please!" Midna cried in distress but it was too late.

Ganondorf had already left the basin and was speeding away. Link was soon clear of the Deku Basin as well, pushing Epona to her fullest. Link knew all about Ganondorf's stallion. It was a larger heavy breed with unparalleled stamina and strength but even at full speed it was still slow for a horse. Epona was quite the opposite. Her stamina wasn't too good but she was fast and sleek. Link's only chance was to catch up to Ganondorf and take Zelda back before Epona ran out of steam.

The Hero of Twilight and the Dark Lord speed further and further away from the battlefield towards a thick forest that stretched the length of the horizon before them. This gave Link some hope. Ganondorf's large horse wouldn't be able to navigate through such obstructive terrain as well as Epona would.

Link was slowly gaining on him. At this rate, he hoped to reach Ganondorf before they even entered the forest. The farther they got from the basin the more it became a struggle between just them. Old feelings came back to haunt them both. Once again, there was a damsel in distress kidnapped by the evil villain and her hero was rushing to save her. It was just like old times.

They were almost there.

Maybe. Link thought. Just maybe.

But in another few moments he realized that it wasn't going to be that easy. Ganondorf burst into the shady woods with Link hot on his heels. They were both blasted by the sudden change in the scenery. While it was somewhat warm and sunny in the basin and the air, light and breezy, the early sunlight had yet to piece through the canopy of the forest. The air was chilled and heavy with tendrils of mist creeping along the ground disturbed only by the thunderous hoof beats of Link's mare and Ganondorf's stallion.

Link found his predictions had been wrong. Ganondorf's horse wasn't affected at all by zigzagging pattern of the trees and their branches, as he barged right through the bushes, branches and small trees, only moving to dodge the thick trunks of the trees that were bigger that he was, but Epona was still gaining on him.

More and more Link slowly closed the gap between them. Epona had it easy due to the cleared out path that Ganondorf and his black stallion left in their wake.

Reaching into his boot, Link equipped himself with his dagger, planning to cut the ropes that bound his princess. He reached out for her, extending his arm to such a degree that that it became quite painful, but his outstretched arm fell just short.

Almost! He thought. Just a little closer and I'll have it!

Closer and closer he came till the dagger point could just barely cut the outer fibers of the brown rope. He was ready to catch her when he cut it.

But it could not be so.

Epona, for all her speed, had begun to tire. At first she slowed down to the same speed as Ganondorf's horse but then, slowly, inch by inch, the dagger's sharp point and the rope around Zelda's waist began to drift apart. Epona's stamina was used up and Link knew Ganondorf would not need to rest his horse for several miles yet.

"No." He whispered.

"NO!"

Realizing it was hopeless but unwilling to just give up, Link continued to pursue Ganondorf. More and more trees were starting to obstruct Link's line of sight. The Dark Lord was disappearing into the maze of green and brown but never would Link just let him win. Never would he just give up and accept defeat. Still, for all his determination, tears were welling up at the corners of his eyes as hopelessness began to painfully burrow its way into his heart.

It wasn't much longer before Ganondorf had completely disappeared into the natural maze of the forest. Link didn't have to heart to push Epona any harder than he was lest he kill her. The poor beast was breathing heavily, her eyes unfocused and foaming at the mouth. He had to stop very soon or she wasn't going to even be able to walk back to camp.

And suddenly… the forest ended. Link barely managed to stop Epona and prevent her from leaping into the giant canyon that now lay before them. Quickly, he dismounted her and looked for any sign of the dark king but it was as if he had vanished without a trace. Falling slowly to his knees in shock, Link dug his finger nails into the dirt watching his tears drop one by one to the brown dusty earth.

"I… I couldn't save her." He cried softly. "I was too slow and… too weak."

That familiar voice stirred again "You know, I-"

"SHUT UP!" Link roared, jumping to his feet. "What do you know? Huh? What do _you_ know about saving someone you don't know or even care about?" He paused, breathing deeply for a moment and then Link's voice dropped low and cold. "I don't ever, EVER want to hear your voice again. I _will_ save her. Alone. This is my quest, for me. Not to save Hyrule or its people, but to save someone close to me. And by the goddesses, if anyone or anything stands in my way, I will... _remove_ them by Any. Means. Necessary."

End of Part One

Page **3** of **3**


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